Police & Crime Commissioner Budget Consultation: A Case Study

 

An Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner (OPCC) faced a significant challenge in maintaining the level of policing amidst budget constraints. Westco was commissioned to run a comprehensive consultation exercise with the public.

 

Tackling budget challenges: how we engaged the public on police funding

 

When the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner (OPCC) faced a significant challenge in maintaining the level of policing amidst tough budget constraints, they turned to Westco to lead a comprehensive public consultation exercise. Our mission? To gather public opinion on police funding and help identify priority areas for spending, ensuring effective policing and public safety amidst financial challenges.

 

Clear objectives, targeted approach

We knew the stakes were high. To succeed, we needed to:

• Gauge public opinion on whether they were willing to pay more in Council Tax to maintain current policing levels.
• Identify spending priorities across key areas of the police service.
• Foster public understanding of the difficult trade-offs involved in police budgeting.

 

Engaging the public: a multi-method approach

 

To address this challenge, we conducted a comprehensive public consultation…

 

Event management

We recruited a representative cross-section of the public using professional agencies to ensure a diverse mix of participants based on gender, age, ethnicity, geographic area, disability, social grade, household size and type, working status, experiences with crime, and views towards the police and Council Tax. 119 people joined us across two events, providing a rich diversity of voices.

 

Electronic voting

During our engagement sessions, we asked participants: would you be willing to pay more in Council Tax to maintain the level of policing? This question was posed both before and after a presentation and participation session to gauge any shifts in perception.

 

Initially, opinion was divided – 50% responded positively, while the rest were unsure (17%) or opposed the idea (33%). However, after our presentations and discussions, more than eight in ten (82%) participants expressed willingness to pay more. We helped shift the conversation by illustrating the direct impact of policing levels on public safety.

 

Focus group discussions

 

We facilitated focus group discussions to explore public opinion on various aspects of policing, including safety, crime trends, and views towards the Constabulary. Most participants at both events reported that they largely felt safe in their communities, citing factors like street lighting, CCTV, and familiarity with the area and those in the community.

 

However, they also raised concerns about criminal damage (vandalism), burglary/theft/robbery, as well as drug- and alcohol-related crimes and anti-social behaviour. Many participants voiced positive opinions about their local police service and were receptive to more communication and engagement from the police.

 

Deliberative budget exercises

 

In an interactive budget exercise, we asked participants to allocate spending across eight areas of the police service based on their own priorities. Then, we upped the stakes – they had to make tough trade-offs, choosing where to cut funding if they wanted to spend more in critical areas. Participants gained important insight into the hard choices senior decision-makers often have to make: if they chose to spend more in one policing area, they had to spend less in another. The result? Hidden crime, response policing, neighbourhood policing, and specialist operations emerged as top spending priorities.

 

Public insights and innovative ideas

 

Through our consultation, we uncovered key public insights:

• Public willingness to pay: Before the event, half of the participants were open to paying more Council Tax. After the engagement sessions, this number jumped to over 80% – a clear shift towards supporting the funding needed to maintain policing levels.
• Priority spending areas: The public identified hidden crime as their top priority, with twice as many participants willing to spend more in this area compared to others. This was followed by response policing and neighbourhood policing. These insights were crucial for the OPCC in aligning spending with public expectations.
• Innovative solutions: Participants showed strong support for new ideas like handling incidents over the phone and using mobile pop-up police stations to increase engagement.

 

Delivering results

 

Our consultation didn’t just gather opinions – it helped transform them:

• The shift in public willingness to pay more Council Tax demonstrated the effectiveness of the consultation in communicating the importance of maintaining policing levels.
• The OPCC gained actionable insights from the public’s budget priorities, helping them make informed choices about resource allocation.
• The consultation fostered a sense of involvement and ownership among participants, leading to greater public support for police initiatives.

 

A comprehensive consultation with a lasting impact

 

Our Police and Crime Commissioner Budget Consultation achieved more than its objectives. We successfully engaged the public, increased their understanding of police funding challenges, and provided the OPCC with the insights they needed to make informed, community-supported decisions. Thanks to our approach, the public’s voice played a central role in shaping the future of policing in the region.