Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster travelled to London to demand fair funding for West Midlands Police.
The PCC met with West Midlands MPs to discuss why they must all come together, united as one, to deliver a fair police funding deal for the force – and the people of the West Midlands.
It comes after West Midlands Police has experienced significant funding cuts over the past decade, will still have 1,000 less police officers than it had in 2010 and has faced a Budget deficit in 2023/24 of £28.1 million. It was handed the fifth worst budget settlement in the country for 2023/24 – while leafier areas such as Hertfordshire, Wiltshire and Sussex enjoyed larger increases.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, said: “The existing funding formula, that allocates police grant to forces across the country, costs West Midlands Police £40 million a year. This is the equivalent of about 800 police officers.
“That has had, and it continues to have, a serious adverse impact on police presence, response times, conduct of investigations and the ability of West Midlands Police to prevent and tackle crime. We need change and we need it now.
“I am committed to rebuilding community policing, but West Midlands Police all too often has one hand tied behind its back as a consequence of the inadequate and unfair funding received from government.
“By working together, we can present a strong united voice to the government, urging them to listen to the needs of people across the West Midlands, when it comes to policing, crime and community safety”
The PCC also met with Home Office officials to discuss what more needs to be done to prevent, tackle and reduce fraud.
He said: “As well as a robust policing response, we need action on prevention and early intervention to prevent people becoming victims of fraud in the first place.
“Sadly, thousands of people in the West Midlands are victims of fraud every year and not enough is being done to prevent and tackle it or bring the perpetrators to justice.
“We are developing an innovative public health approach to fraud in the West Midlands, that focusses on prevention and early intervention to keep people safe and secure.
“We need the government to invest far more in policing, so crimes like fraud can be addressed head on and perpetrators held to account, via the criminal justice system.
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