Policing Surrey 2023-24

Frontline policing protected in Surrey over the next year thanks to your contributions

This year’s increase of £15 in the policing element of your council tax based on Band D property means Surrey Police can continue to protect frontline services and take the fight to criminals in our communities.

The Force has been working really hard to recruit this year’s share of extra officers from the government’s national uplift programme.

Together with additional posts made possible by the amount you pay in council tax, that will mean over 300 extra officers will have been recruited into Surrey Police since 2019 which is
great news for residents.

Asking the public for more money during a cost of living crisis has been an incredibly difficult decision. But the Surrey Police budget is under considerable strain with huge pressure on pay, energy and fuel costs. No increase would have inevitably led to cuts which would ultimately affect the service to our residents.

Your council tax contributions are vital in sustaining police numbers across the county and helping provide our new recruits with the right support, training and development. This will mean we can get more officers on the streets in our communities as soon as we can, keeping people safe during these difficult times.

Lisa Townsend
Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey

What will you pay for policing in 2023/2024

Where our money goes and comes from

£159.60 million or 56% of the budget of Surrey Police and our Office comes from the council tax amount you pay towards policing. This is just over half of the total budget.

£126.60 million or 44% of the budget comes from the Government. This is less than the total paid by tax payers in Surrey.

	2023/2024	2024/2025
Employees	£240.90	£260.70
Premises	£12.70	£14.80
Supplies and Services	£48.10	£47.60
Transport	£3.50	£5.20
Operational Income	-£16.50	-£18.60
Gross Budget Use of reserves Government grant Surplus from previous year	£288.70 -£1.00 -£126.60 -£1.50	£309.70 £0.10 -£140.20 -£1.20
Council tax Number of equivalent Band D properties Charge based on a Band D property	£159.60 513,828 £310.57	£168.40 520,447 £323.57

An average day for Surrey Police

The below text replaces a graphic included in our council tax leaflet sent to households in Surrey.

View the infographic as a pdf.

Here are just some of the demands that contribute to an average day for Surrey Police:

• 450 emergency calls to 999
• 690 calls to the 101 non-emergency number
• 500 contacts online, including the Surrey Police website and live chat, social media channels and emails to Surrey Police
• 51 incidents that include a repeat victim
• 47 incidents of anti-social behaviour
• 8 burglaries
• 8 missing people
• 42 incidents relating to mental health
• 31 arrests are made
• 128 incidents are allocated for investigation

The above incidents are some but not all of the demand on Surrey Police in a typical day. All figures are averages taken at the end of January 2023.

Police and Crime Plan for Surrey

The Police and Crime Plan outlines the areas that Surrey Police will focus on between 2021 and 2025. It includes the key areas of performance that I scrutinise in regular meetings with
the Chief Constable.

Employee information

Home Office figures show Surrey Police has grown by 333 police officers in the last four years thanks to your council tax contributions alongside the Government’s national uplift programme.

The Force now has a total of almost 4,200 officers and staff:

	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24
Police officers	1,930	1,994	2,114	2,159	2,263	2,263

Surrey’s volunteering programme includes a further 400 individuals volunteering as special constables, police support volunteers or police cadets. Collectively their dedication provides valuable support across policing teams.

To find out more see surrey.police.uk/volunteering

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