Crime commissioner calls for summer policing funds

Alison Hernandez said May had seen a 29% increase in anti-social behaviour compared to the rest of 2024

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall has called for additional summer funding to tackle growing anti-social behaviour.

Alison Hernandez previously called for £17m from the government in 2019 to pay for the cost of policing summer visitors over three years.

At the same time the force was being given 8p per person, per day less than the England and Wales average in core funding.

The latest figures show that gap increasing to 10p per person per day.

Ms Hernandez said the region had already seen a 29% increase in anti-social behaviour in May compared to the rest of 2024.

Speaking to the BBC, she said: "We know summer is coming so we fundamentally want to make sure we can start building that case in readiness for the new government to understand the summer policing issues particularly in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

"If you have strong evidence I do not think they can argue against it - it was a bit of challenge with the previous government."

A spokesperson for the Home Office told the BBC: "This new government has made clamping down on anti-social behaviour one of our first steps to delivering safer streets and more secure communities.

"We have also committed to delivering 13,000 new neighbourhood police and community support officers, and introducing tougher powers to tackle repeat offending."

When asked why people should report anti-social behaviour, Ms Hernandez said: "The main thing is the police need to know what is happening.

"It helps us build a picture of what is happening across Devon and Cornwall, and it certainly helps the Chief Constable allocate their resources to where police officers need to be.

"So reporting is critical."

She added that people who report a case of anti-social behaviour three times or more in a six month period and still see no action can request an anti-social behaviour case review.

This can be done through the police or their local council.