Part of my role as being your Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire means that I am responsible for securing the annual budget for Bedfordshire Police.

With higher costs for some everyday items and the impact of the energy crisis affecting everyone, I know that any increase for 2023-2024 for people will be hard. I also know, that you want to see more officers in our communities and our rural areas, taking more criminals off the streets and protecting our towns and villages.

I have listened carefully to what local residents and community representatives have told me about what they want from their police force. In order to further support Bedfordshire Police, we will be increasing the police precept by £15 a year for an average Band D property. This equates to about 28p a week for a Band D property.

During consultation, I asked if you agreed on the important areas for us to direct additional resources into and I can positively say, the majority agreed with these directions, with 54% in support of or neutral to the rise in police precept.

I am fully committed to holding the Chief Constable accountable for delivering on these priority areas and will do everything within my power to help him and his team deliver these for the people of Bedfordshire.

Thank you for your continued support in helping to make Bedfordshire a better place to live and work.

Festus Akinbusoye, Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire