A FURTHER 70 police officers will be recruited in Cheshire this year but will cost Halton residents an extra 10 pence a week.

Confirming the 2016/17 police budget today, Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer announced a 3.2 per cent precept for council taxpayers.

Mr Dwyer said: “I have thought long and hard about this decision. I have talked with residents and businesses. They tell me that a modest increase in tax is a price they are prepared to pay when it guarantees more frontline officers.

“My decision to raise council tax means that I can increase, for the second year running, the number of frontline police officers in our communities.

“On top of the 53 I funded last year, this year’s budget will allow me to add a further 70 officers.

Cheshire Constabulary’s budget for 2016/17 will be £192.5 million.

Mr Dwyer added: “In addition to frontline policing, this budget will help equip the Constabulary to meet the challenges of cybercrime, extremism, and more complex offences which increasingly we see today, including some horrendous sexual and domestic abuse cases.”

Chief Constable, Simon Byrne said: “I am grateful to the Police and Crime Commissioner and the people of Cheshire for supporting our budget.

“During the last year, crime has steadily reduced and we are seeing some of our highest rates for solving crime in recent years.

“Our intention in the coming year is to continue to focus on those issues that matter to the public, like putting more officers into local policing, while investing in the Constabulary so that officers have the right kit and the best IT to further improve our ability to combat crime and protect our communities in the face of new threats.”

The key priorities in the Commissioner’s budget are:

• An additional 70 frontline police officers in our communities, bringing the total number of Cheshire police officers to 2,053 by March 2017, helping protect the public of Cheshire

• Further investment in the constabulary’s public protection team to tackle sexual crimes and domestic abuse, as well as emerging threats like human trafficking and modern-day slavery]

• Further strengthening the constabulary’s taskforce, which includes our roads policing unit, to deter and identify organised criminal gangs and those involved in drug crime

• Maintaining my commitment to PCSOs, to ensure that visibility and public engagement is maximised

• Continued investment in technology, including tablet computers, to enable officers to spend more time in local communities

• Increasing the ways the public can access the police (online, local contact points, face to face), including more police community bases in remote locations, ensuring officers are accessible where and when you need them.

• The capacity and flexibility to respond to national threats of terrorism and cybercrime

Mr Dwyer added: “This Constabulary is one of the most cost-effective in the county.

"Only last autumn the police watchdog, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary judged us as ‘outstanding’ for efficiency, and has lauded our approach which focuses resources on the priorities facing our communities.

“But I will be ever vigilant in scrutinising the Constabulary’s spending to ensure that every penny it spends continues to be focused on protecting the people of Cheshire.”