Police Commissioner Asks: Would You Pay More Council Tax To Help Fight Crime?

Published on: 14 Dec, 2025
Updated on: 14 Dec, 2025

Commissioner Lisa Townsend

Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner has launched a survey asking people if they would be prepared to pay extra on their Council Tax bill next year so officers have the tools for the job of fighting crime across the county.

PCC Lisa Townsend said Surrey Police had made “incredible strides” over the last two years – with burglary and vehicle crime rates falling, successful action against anti-social behaviour, a rise in  shoplifting charges by over 400 per cent and a doubling of the the overall charge rate.

But she said to continue to fight crime successfully, adequate funding was essential.

People who live or work in Surrey are being invited to fill in a brief survey on whether they would support the Commissioner’s proposed increase of a little over £1 extra a month on an average Council Tax bill for 2026/27.

Setting Surrey’s Police budget is one of the Commissioner’s key tasks and this includes determining the level of Council Tax raised.

Police forces are aided by a grant from central Government, which also sets the maximum precept limit that Commissioners can raise.

A statement from Surrey police says the funding they receive is inadequate.

The statement says: “The Government assumes in their police funding announcements that all Commissioners will increase to the maximum limit. This year’s settlement, which will include the limit, is yet to be announced but it is anticipated that it will likely be in line with last year at £14 for an average Band D property. This equates to just over £1 extra a month and is what the Commissioner is basing the survey on.

“Despite repeated lobbying to Government to get a fairer share of police grant funding, Surrey Police remains one of the most poorly funded forces in the country. As a result, an increase in Council Tax is vital to give the Force the resources it needs to deliver the services residents depend on.

“Every pound of precept amounts to an extra half-a-million pounds in the policing budget.”

The Commissioner said the contributions people make through their Council Tax are “absolutely crucial” and continue to pay dividends for communities.

She added: “I vowed last year that the contributions Surrey residents make through their Council Tax would go towards what policing does best – fighting crime in our local communities, getting tough on offenders and protecting people.

“The improvements we have seen have been nothing short of incredible.

“More criminals are being put before the courts and taken off our streets. Burglary and vehicle crime rates have fallen dramatically whilst charges for shoplifting and violence against women and girls have risen hugely

“This has all been made possible by the contributions you, the Surrey public, make through your council tax contributions.

“It is always really tough asking the Surrey taxpayer to pay more money, particularly in the current financial climate. But my job is to ensure our local policing teams remain properly funded in the face of some tough financial challenges.

“The reality is that despite repeated lobbying, the Government’s funding for policing in Surrey is simply inadequate, which is why your contributions remain so crucial to the service the Force is able to provide. I am afraid that an increase of some kind will be needed again this year to ensure that drastic cuts to our workforce can be avoided.

“The Force is making every effort to find efficiencies across the board to ensure we provide the very best value for money for our residents. But they still must find in the region of £18m in savings by 2030.”

Announcing the survey, Townsend said: “It is important to me to find out what Surrey residents think and whether they would be willing to pay a little extra to support our policing teams again this year. So I would ask everyone to take a minute to fill out our brief survey and give me their views.”

The survey will close at midnight on January 12. For more information visit this dedicated webpage.

 The survey can be completed here.

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