The Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire and Ruland has released a statement about the local budget for policing, the Commissioner's Police and Crime Plan, and what this will mean for where you live.

Out of the £223.2 million budget, the Leicestershire and Rutland Police have been granted an 'impressive' £1.78 million.

Rupert Matthews has said that this budget will go on:

Delivering a more robust policing service tailored around the views of local people

Work to increase public confidence in policing

Boosting the response to rural crime

Enabling a focus on business crime

Strengthening the work to address violent, serious and organised crime

Enhancing Criminal Justice work to bring more offenders to justice

Improving the work to tackle domestic abuse

Supporting crime prevention and early intervention work to reduce the number of offences committed

Supporting volunteer and Neighbourhood Watch Schemes

Strengthening the use of technology

Supporting the delivery of the third year of the Government's 20,000 police officer uplift programme

Delivering a balanced budget to maintain quality of service provision in future years.

Rupert Matthews said: "The past nine months have been difficult for all of us as we have slipped in and out of lockdowns, Plan B, work from home and all the rest of it. At the Office of the PCC, we have been settling down to new ways of working to make our city and two counties safer for all of us who live or work here. A key part of that is keeping in touch with you to find out what you want from our local police force, and to let you know how we are delivering on our promises.

"I plan to produce regular newsletters and bulletins targeted at your local area. This means that you will only receive news relevant to where you live. Of course, if you would like to know more about any other neighbourhoods, please ask.

"To ensure that we provide you with information that interests you, I would be grateful if you would spare a minute or two to complete the short questionnaire at the end of this bulletin."

The questionnaire can be found here.

Rupert Matthews concluded: "Thank you for reading. And, if you wish, you can follow me daily on Twitter @LeicsPCC"

Alternatively, Rupert Matthews can be contact via the email address police.commissioner@ leics.pcc.pnn.gov.uk.

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