Wiltshire Police will see further investment in key policing services to continue making improvements after a majority decision of eight to two to back Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson’s budget.

The county’s Police and Crime Panel, which holds the Police and Crime Commissioner to account and is made up of cross-party councillors from Wiltshire and Swindon, backed the budget at a meeting this morning.

This support will raise the policing precept in Wiltshire by 5.2% - an extra £1.09 a month or £13 a year for the average Band D property. This, alongside a grant from the government, accounts for the core budget for policing in the county.

The panels’ backing allows the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and Wiltshire Police to invest in the key areas identified by the residents of Wiltshire and Swindon and to support the delivery of a new operational model which will enable neighbourhood teams to provide visible, community-focused, policing.

To find out more and what the Commissioner Philip Wilkinson had to say visit https://bit.ly/Greenlightforbudgetproposal