Our region is receiving yet another significant funding boost, with an increase of £50m in 2024-25 for policing. That’s a percent increase of 6.8% from the Conservative Government, compared to the previous year.
It means that West Midlands Police will receive total funded of £789.4m for the next year, a record figure for England’s second largest police force area.
Former West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) candidate Capt. Jay Singh-Sohal welcomed the news but warned that policing leadership in the region now needed to move up a gear to ensure the extra money from taxpayers went towards tackling persistently high crime levels across the regions seven boroughs.
Jay Singh-Sohal said:
“It’s welcome news that the West Midlands is receiving yet more funding investment in the New Year. This increase means the force has a significant budget to put into making our region a safer and more secure place to live, visit and work.
“For the past twelve years we have seen weak Labour PCCs failing to address the concerns of residents who face more crimes on our streets and the loss of local police stations.
“Now, there are simply no more excuses left for the rising crimes we face as well as the inaction to deal with them; the resource is available so should be matched with strong leadership over policing to ensure a robust approach to get crime down.
“That is why I have campaigned for the merger of the West Midlands Mayor and PCC roles in May 2024, so that all the policy levers can come together to better address the issues our residents face.”
With the Home Office consulting on the merger plan, Capt. Sohal urged residents to respond in favour, to put the West Midlands on par with other regions where the roles fall within the same office such as Greater London, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.
Home Secretary James Cleverly MP said:
“Our communities deserve a well-funded and equipped force, dedicated to making our country safer.
“Progress has been made, with overall crime down and 136,000 violent offences prevented since 2019, but we will continue to invest in policing.
“That is why we are putting up to £843 million more into keeping our streets safe, so that every officer and community has what they need to cut crime, protect the public and build confidence in policing.”
The additional funding for 2024-25 will better protect the public all over the country. The extra £50m specifically for the West Midlands will help make sure that crime is effectively tackled by the police and people are kept safe across the region.
The announcement follows the Conservative Government’s introduction of five new pieces of legislation to keep our streets safe. These will ensure criminals are locked up for longer, victims are protected, with police and intelligence services given further powers to protect us, delivering on the promise to clamp down on crime.
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Jay Singh-Sohal 