The Police and Crime Panel will be considering the Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed budget for 2025/26, as well as reviewing the latest financial reports and considering the process for appointing a new independent co-opted member to the panel. A draft of the 2025-2028 Police and Crime Plan, which sets out the key objectives for Surrey Police, will also be presented to the panel for comment.

Proposed Surrey Police Precept 2025/26

The most significant item on the agenda for the public is the Police and Crime Commissioner’s proposed precept for 2025/26. The report pack explains how the Commissioner is proposing an increase of £14 for a Band D property. The report describes how the Chief Constable, Tim De Meyer, has made a number of commitments to continue to improve Surrey Police’s performance, such as improving charge rates, but states that these improvements can only be delivered and sustained if he has the additional resources provided by increasing the precept. The Commissioner has also said that without the proposed increase it would be incredibly challenging for the Chief Constable to continue delivering improvements as set out in the Force's 'Our Plan' vision document¹.

'Our Plan' is the Chief Constable's vision document for Surrey Police.

The document explains that although the proposed increase represents a 4.3% rise, this is lower than the 4.99% increase to council tax already announced by Surrey County Council. In justifying the proposal, the report pack says that the Commissioner recognises the financial pressures that many residents are under at this time and would rather not have to increase the burden they already have to shoulder, but goes on to say:

In the context of the 2025/26 national policing settlement, the Police and Crime Plan, the services that I am required to commission, and the operational requirements of the Force, I believe that there is a compelling case utilising the full precept flexibility - i.e., an increase of £14 a year.

The Commissioner has said that a small proportion of the proposed increase will be used to support victim services, which the report says are “already at breaking point”. The report explains that this is due to a number of factors, including “rising demand, increased complexity, both in terms of victims needs and the offending behaviour, and rising costs”.

Draft Police and Crime Plan 2025-2028

The draft of the 2025-2028 Police and Crime Plan will be presented to the panel. The draft plan sets out 5 key priorities for policing in Surrey:

• Back to Basics Policing
• Protecting Vulnerable People in Surrey
• Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls
• Strengthening Safe and Resilient Communities
• Fostering Integrity, Accountability, and Wellbeing in Policing

For each priority, the plan sets out a number of ways in which Surrey Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner will work towards achieving their aims. The plan contains a number of pledges to focus on prevention and collaboration, such as working with partners to prevent and address elder abuse by raising awareness, improving safeguarding measures, and ensuring victims receive the support and protection they need.

As part of the 'Protecting Vulnerable People in Surrey' priority, the draft plan commits the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to work with local partners to develop a targeted knife crime intervention that will:

focus on prevention, support for at-risk individuals, and enforcement in high-risk areas to reduce incidents and ensure continued and long-term community safety.

The plan also contains commitments for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to strengthen early intervention pathways for young people involved in the criminal justice system, stating that they will:

Focus on targeted support, diversion programs, and collaborative efforts with community organisations to address underlying causes and reduce disproportionality.

As part of the 'Strengthening Safe and Resilient Communities' priority, the Police and Crime Commissioner has pledged to ensure that Surrey Police work closely with residents, stating that they will encourage active participation from the community in crime prevention and neighbourhood safety initiatives.

Surrey Police Group Financial Report

The agenda states that the Chief Financial Officer of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner will be presenting a financial report which covers the 8 month period ending on 30 November 2024. The document explains that:

At the 30th November 2024 it is estimated that at the year-end group revenue expenditure will be £0.8m under budget and capital expenditure £14.9m under budget.

Appointment of Co-Opted Independent Member

The report pack explains that the panel is seeking to appoint a new co-opted independent member, who will have full voting rights, to join the panel. The role is a statutory requirement under Schedule 6 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011, which states that Police and Crime Panels must include two non-political independent members. The process of appointing the new member is described in the pack. The panel will be asked to approve the appointment of Mrs Samantha Sheriff to the role.

Complaints Received Since the Last Meeting

The meeting will note that two complaints made against the Police and Crime Commissioner were considered at a meeting of the Complaints Sub-Committee on 17 January 2025. The agenda states that the sub-committee determined that the Commissioner had not breached the Code of Conduct. The sub-committee did not recommend that the Commissioner take any action in remediation. The meeting will also note that no complaints were made against the Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner.