PCC prioritises public and policing needs.

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has confirmed she will increase the policing element of council tax in County Durham and Darlington by £18.50 a year for a Band D property, following clear public support and against a recommendation from the Police and Crime Panel to limit the increase to £15.

For most households, the increase amounts to just 24p a week for Band A properties and 28p a week for Band B properties, with around 80% of homes across the force area falling into those Bands.

The decision will protect frontline policing; safeguarding police officer numbers, PCSOs and police staff over the next two years, maintaining neighbourhood visibility and strengthening the response to anti-social behaviour, shoplifting and community crime.

At a meeting of the Police and Crime Panel earlier this week, the Commissioner set out why the Government had granted Durham exceptional precept flexibility, recognising the force’s financial pressures and allowing the increase to rise above the standard £15 cap to £18.50 for a Band D property.

The Commissioner also made clear that a £15 increase would be insufficient and would result in a real-terms cut to policing, forcing greater reliance on reserves and putting frontline services at risk.

The £18.50 precept will generate around £3.5 million in 2026/27. Without it, the force would face a projected £6.5 million funding gap next year alone.

Despite this, the Police and Crime Panel chose to recommend limiting the increase to £15.

Joy Allen said the recommendation was deeply disappointing.

“This was not a technical disagreement — it was a choice,” she said.  “A choice between protecting local policing or allowing avoidable harm to frontline services.  For the sake of a few pence a week, the Panel chose politics over people and policing priorities.”

The Commissioner said the Panel had been explicitly advised by the Chief Constable that key operational improvements were dependent on the additional £3.50 flexibility, including plans to establish a dedicated Criminal Exploitation Team to tackle drug-related crime and the exploitation of children and young adults; strengthen the response to anti-social behaviour linked to exploitation and missing children; and build specialist investigative capacity for rape and serious sexual offences.

“These proposals were presented clearly and professionally, and the consequences of rejecting the funding were explained,” she said.  “To ignore that advice is to ignore the reality of policing on the ground.”

Public consultation conducted by the Commissioner consistently shows strong support for higher precept increases, with the most recent consultation showing the highest responses in favour of increases of £20 or more, where the investment protects frontline services.

“Most importantly, the public understand the need for this increase and have supported it,” the Commissioner said.  “A vote against investment in policing is a vote for fewer officers, fewer PCSOs and reduced neighbourhood policing. I will not allow that to happen.”

She added that even with the increase, Durham Constabulary will still have fewer officers than in 2010, and the area will remain below the England and Wales average police precept.

“I recognise that households are under financial pressure, and I do not underestimate that,” she said. “But freezing the precept does not freeze costs — it cuts policing.  

“This decision strikes the fairest possible balance between affordability and public safety. It reflects what local people have told me they want, and it protects the services they rely on.

“This is not a political decision. It is a pragmatic, responsible decision — and it is the right one.”

With the increase, the policing precept for a Band D property in County Durham and Darlington will be £301 per year, compared with a national average of £312.

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