Police council tax share set to go up by nearly 6%

The share of council tax which funds Essex Police is set to go up by almost 6% from April.

A meeting of the Police, Fire & Crime Panel voted for the increase, which is the equivalent of £14.94 a year - or 29p a week - for a Band D property.

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said recurring costs continued to go up and the force relied "disproportionately on the good people of Essex... for our funding".

At the meeting, it was agreed the police precept would rise by 5.74%, raising an additional £11.95m from its share of council tax.

Harrington said in return for the increase, he promised to invest more in neighbourhood policing and his officers would continue work to cut and prevent crime.

In 2025, the force said it solved 2,700 more crimes than the previous year and increased the number of charges brought by 12%.

Harrington said: "Despite being the ninth‑largest force in the country, we receive just 2.25% of national funding while representing 2.5% of national policing.

"You don't have to be a genius to work out that we lose out by around 10% each time funds are awarded."

He acknowledged the force received an extra £21.1m from central government, but added that "unavoidable recurring costs - such as paying our highly skilled officers and staff, utility bills and kennelling costs - continue to rise and currently stand at £22.9m".

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