'Radical solutions' needed to fix police funding

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said Wiltshire residents "are the safest in the country"

"Radical solutions" are needed to provide the level of service the public expects, a police and crime commissioner has admitted.

PCC Philip Wilkinson gave his "honest appraisal" to a committee of Swindon and Wiltshire councillors on Thursday that without extra funding, he could "no longer, hand on heart, tell you that we can provide the same level of service".

He said: "We've trimmed just about all the fat out of the system that we can. We are going over contracts line by line to identify savings.

"The fact that Wiltshire residents are the safest in the country, and we've achieved that with less money, is a credit to the work of Wiltshire Police and its Chief Constable Catherine Roper."

Wiltshire Police's funding comes from two streams: a national government grant, and council tax

The commissioner explained that funding of the county's police force came from two streams: a national government grant, and council tax.

Through the national grant the force receives £127 per head of population - but the national average is £164 per person, and some London boroughs receive more than £400.

From council tax, the force receives £287 per Band D household but in Gloucestershire it is £307.

"That means we receive less per head of population than any other county police force," said Mr Wilkinson.

Philip Wilkinson praised the work of Chief Constable Catherine Roper

But the commissioner warned the police and crime panel, a joint committee made up of members of Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council: "If the grant stays as it is now, and the council tax stays the same, we will not be able to provide the service we have been doing for the last year.

"We need to look at radical solutions.

"It is extremely worrying that I can no longer, hand on heart, tell you that we can provide the same level of service. That is my honest appraisal."

Councillor Allison Bucknell, who represents Lyneham, said the public's expectations would have to be managed, especially around police stations.

"People don't need a building in order to feel safe," she said.

"There is some very old fashioned thinking, and the chance to reset expectations."

Councillor Julie Vine, who represents Trowbridge Grove, asked about the cost of the police helicopter.

"We pay, regionally, £176,000 an hour for a fixed wing aircraft," said Mr Wilkinson, "and we've used it for two hours in the last year."