Sussex PCC Katy Bourne is carrying out a survey to get feedback from Sussex residents about the crime and community safety issues that matter to them, their experience of contacting police, and about police funding.

She said: “I want to know which issues matter most to people, and ask what can be done to address them by all our local partners working in collaboration with the police. This helps me set the local policing priorities for the Chief Constable to address as set out in my Police and Crime Plan.

“As the elected Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner I am also responsible for securing the annual budget for Sussex Police, which consists of an annual Government Grant and the police precept element of your council tax (which makes up 41% of the total).

“All of us, including our public services, face rising costs from inflation, so if we want to sustain levels of neighbourhood policing in Sussex, take more offenders off the streets and protect communities, we will need to consider increasing the precept next year. I know that any increase next year will be challenging on top of other costs, but households still pay less for policing in Sussex than most counties, where the precept remains one of the lowest in the country at 31 out of 37.”

The closing date for the survey is 9th January 2022.