Cllr Duncan

Councillors in Brighton and  Hove have called on Sussex Police to preserve neighbourhood policing in the forthcoming round of police budget cuts.

A motion welcoming the neighbourhood-based approach to policing employed in  Sussex and calling on the Chief Constable to make sure it is unaffected received the unanimous backing of all councillors last night.

Cllr Ben Duncan, who speaks on Policing for the Greens, and is a member of the Sussex Police Authority, said:
"The Chief Constable has warned that we face a cash shortfall of about £35million over the next five years - thanks to paltry government funding and a desire to keep Council Tax bills down.

“While Greens want to see the government commit to better funding forlocal policing, this doesn’t look likely. That means  Sussex Police must to do all they can to protect neighbourhood policing with whatever money’s available.

"I am delighted that all councillors have backed my call to send a clear message to Sussex Police: stop the cuts, even if that means spending less money on other areas of policing orhaving the political courage to raise Council Tax by a few pence a week to foot the bill.

"Of course times are tough economically but people want to see more neighbourhood-based policing with visible, local police stations at the heart of their communities. That's the position we have made clear today."

A final decision on the police budget for 2010-11, and what it means for policing in Brighton and Hove, will be taken in  Chichester on February 11. Cllr Duncan has submitted a budget amendment calling for an increase in the budget for "bottom-up" neighbourhood policing.

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www.brightonhovegreens.org