a) Councillor Kevin Thompson to move that
“this Council
(i) recognises the bravery and hard work of Surrey’s police officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and staff in trying to keep our local communities safe;
(ii) notes that despite their efforts, and Surrey residents paying the highest council tax in England for their police force, just 150 out of over 2,700 residential burglaries were solved in the year to August 2023, and there were over 6,500 vehicle crimes, representing an annual increase of over 14%;
(iii) believes that many more crimes could be prevented in Surrey Heath with an increased community policing presence and that many of our communities have seen a drop in police visibility and presence over recent years;
(iv) notes that the operating budget for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, including staff and running costs, is currently £1,540,000, representing an increase of more than 50% since March 2021;
(v) further notes that, according to Home Office statistics, the number of PCSOs on Surrey’s streets reduced by more than 50% from 140 to just 68 in the two years since March 2021;
(vi) believes that the cost of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner should be spent on providing frontline police services, funding the equivalent of around 60 new PCSOs;
(vii) further believes that, regardless of the incumbent’s political allegiances, it is clear that the Police and Crime Commissioner is not a necessary role and should be abolished, with its functions transferring to Police Boards, made up of local councillors and representatives from relevant local groups; and
(viii) calls on the Leader of the Council to write to the Home Secretary expressing this Council’s view that this needlessly political role should be abolished with the financial savings reinvested into frontline policing that would benefit Surrey Heath and all of Surrey.”
b) Councillor Josh Thorne to move that
“this Council
(i) is concerned about the number of cases reported to the RSPCA each year, regarding pets given as prizes via fairgrounds, social media, and other channels;
(ii) is concerned for the welfare of those animals that are being given as prizes;
(iii) recognises that many cases of pets being as prizes may go unreported each year;
(iv) supports a move to ban the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on Surrey Borough Council owned land.
(v) agrees to:
a) ban outright the giving of live animals as prizes, in any form, on Surrey Heath Borough Council land; and
b) write to the UK Government, urging an outright ban on the giving of live animals as prizes on both public and private land.”
Minutes:
It was moved by Councillor Kevin Thompson, seconded by Councillor Bob Raikes, and
RESOLVED that
(i) this Council
a) recognises the bravery and hard work of Surrey’s police officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and staff in trying to keep our local communities safe;
b) notes that despite their efforts, and Surrey residents paying the highest council tax in England for their police force, just 150 out of over 2,700 residential burglaries were solved in the year to August 2023, and there were over 6,500 vehicle crimes, representing an annual increase of over 14%;
c) believes that many more crimes could be prevented in Surrey Heath with an increased community policing presence and that many of our communities have seen a drop in police visibility and presence over recent years;
d) notes that the operating budget for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, including staff and running costs, is currently £1,540,000, representing an increase of more than 50% since March 2021;
e) further notes that, according to Home Office statistics, the number of PCSOs on Surrey’s streets reduced by more than 50% from 140 to just 68 in the two years since March 2021;
f) believes that the cost of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner should be spent on providing frontline police services, funding the equivalent of around 60 new PCSOs;
g) further believes that, regardless of the incumbent’s political allegiances, it is clear that the Police and Crime Commissioner is not a necessary role and should be abolished, with its functions transferring to Police Boards, made up of local councillors and representatives from relevant local groups; and
(ii) the Leader of the Council be asked to write to the Home Secretary expressing this Council’s view that this needlessly political role should be abolished with the financial savings reinvested into frontline policing that would benefit Surrey Heath and all of Surrey.