THE POLICE and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has announced plans to increase funding for community partnerships over the next four years.
Matthew Barber has said that the budget for partnerships between the police and other authorities and agencies is set to see a 15% increase in the period between 2024 and 2028.
Community Safety Partnerships see funding given by the police to other agencies to support their efforts in working towards policing priorities.
Thames Valley Police currently has 12 such partnerships in place which span a number of authorities in each area, including fire and rescue organisations, probation providers, councils, and health care boards.
The OPCC says that the partnerships will see funding of £11.4m over the next four years, constituting around £2.95m per year split between them.
Reading has seen its funding drop from a share of more than £370,000 to less than £215,000 in the past three years.
However the funding increase means that Reading will receive more than £246,000 a year until 2028.
Wokingham has seen its funding increase from just over £100,000 to more than £150,000 since 2022, rising to yearly funding of £173,000 from next year.
Oxfordshire is set to see the largest increase, bringing its annual support allocation rise from £712,000 to just under £820,000 from next year.
Berkshire PCC said: “We have strong relationships with our Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) in the Thames Valley and I value the work they do locally in helping make our communities safer.
“I recognise the important work we do together to prevent crime and, as well as delivering record numbers of police officers, I am pleased to be able to increase the Partnership Fund by 15% from next year and give a clear commitment to future funding.
“This means that the total size of the Partnership Fund available for CSPs over the next four years will be £11.4m, which will help to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour across the Thames Valley.
“This funding is in addition to the work commissioned and carried out by my office to support Thames Valley Police and other agencies to tackle crime and make our communities safer.”
