Latest news with #policefunding
The Sun
a day ago
- Business
- The Sun
Police win funding battle with Rachel Reeves after warning to cut services
POLICE chiefs have won their funding battle with the Chancellor to increase their budgets after warning of cuts to services, The Sun understands. Rachel Reeves will put forward a real-terms increase after they demanded a rise. 2 It came amid fears some crimes would have to be ignored — and after heated talks between the Chancellor and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper ahead of Wednesday's spending review. It also emerged last night that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has settled her spending plans amid fears of cuts to housing and council budgets. Meanwhile, the 10million pensioners who lost winter fuel payments last year will find out as early as today whether they will have it reinstated after a screeching policy U-turn. Pressure was put on Ms Reeves to up police funding as forces insisted they could hit breaking point over the early prisoner release scheme. Force leaders warned PM Sir Keir Starmer any settlement failing to address their inflation and pay pressures would leave them making 'stark choices' about investigations to pursue. Labour pledges, including halving knife crime, were also said to be in jeopardy without the extra funding. Cabinet minister Peter Kyle yesterday appeared to signal the boost was coming, telling the BBC: 'We expect the police to start embracing the change they need to do, to do their bit for change as well. "We are doing our bit. "You see a Chancellor that is striving to get investment to the key parts of our country that needs it the most.' The Tories accused Labour of 'splurging' on wasteful projects. When Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp was pushed on where he would cut, he said he would 'go further' on welfare. Rachel Reeves responds to new figures from the ONS which shows GDP increased by 0.7% between January and March 2
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Rachel Reeves faces crisis as cabinet conflicts threaten to block spending plans
Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces a crisis as cabinet conflicts threaten to block her spending plans, with disagreements over proposed cuts to housing and police force budgets. Yvette Cooper and Angela Rayner are pushing back against budget cuts, leading to a stalemate with the Treasury just 48 hours before Reeves is due to unveil the spending review. Cabinet minister Peter Kyle refused to rule out real-terms spending cuts to the police force and housing budget, while the Ministry of Housing is reportedly resisting such cuts. The social housing sector is warning of a potential crisis if funding cuts proceed, with concerns about a "cliff edge" in building more homes and councils already running deficits on housing budgets. Senior police chiefs have cautioned that Keir Starmer's pledge to cut crime will be unattainable without significant investment, citing new online threats and pressures from prison overcrowding.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Some people think Sacramento is liberal. The city budget says otherwise
Sacramento's city council is debating what city resources should be cut to have a balanced budget. What has emerged from the past two meetings is a conversation about public safety and how each council member defines it. Take Council member Mai Vang, for instance. During Tuesday's council meeting, she implored the council to cut funding for police to reach the budget goal. 'I encourage my colleagues to make budget decisions driven by real people who need our help in this critical moment, and not based on fear,' Vang said. Council member Rick Jennings expressed support for a $254 million allocation for the police department, the biggest line item in Sacramento's proposed $1.65 billion spending plan for the coming fiscal year. 'I believe a city that's not safe is not a city that people want to live in,' Jennings said. Jennings and Vang reflect the two sides of public safety that clash in Sacramento. For some, public safety is about dialing 911 when they see a suspicious person. Their idea of safety is centered on an individualistic perspective of protecting themselves, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. And with others, public safety is seen as a collective effort that just doesn't begin with a phone call to police. It's about supporting resources like youth event programs and non-violence initiatives that can set our young adults and members of vulnerable communities on a path that steers them away from confrontations with police. The budget deficit pits supporting police and alternative safety initiatives against each other because, to Vang's point, some people in the community have an aggressively negative view about public safety measures that seek to prevent crime and violence so that a 911 call is unnecessary. I recently wrote a piece about Measure L, which funnels cannabis tax money into youth programs, and why it's so important that its funding doesn't get decreased. I was flabbergasted by the emails I received from people calling this type of initiative racist and even corrupt. Both policing and youth initiatives are important investments to Sacramento and any other city, for that matter. Wanting more funding for youth services or figuring out a way for those funds not to be touched should not be met with a fear-mongering mentality. We're dealing with two sensitive subjects, police and kids. The rational way of thinking, at least from my perspective, is to look at what is given for both. The police budget is currently at $246.5 million, and it's set to increase by just under $8 million to $254 million in the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, the city Cutting some funds from the police department will not prevent the city or the department from devising strategies to protect people. Sacramento should look beyond just one means of public safety to improve the livelihood of our community. The council has its work cut out for it in trying to find the best way forward with the budget. Mayor Kevin McCarty said this week that he sees a 'Venn diagram with lots of commonality' regarding the council's budget desires. The challenge will be getting to that common ground and by the looks of this past council meeting, there might be some tough conversations and some losers. Policing is not the only way to look at public safety. Helping kids see college as a viable option can help save lives. Having summer programs where they have places to go can prevent bad decisions. What's missing in Sacramento right now is rational thinking about what a safe community means and where city resources should be invested to realize it.
RNZ News
22-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Budget 25: Boost will mostly be eaten by inflation, police union says
Police Association President Chris Cahill says the devil will be in the details as to where promised Budget funding will be focused. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver The Police Association says it's pleasantly surprised by new funding allocated from this year's Budget. The government is investing $480 million over the next four years to support frontline police as part of the 2025 Budget. Police Association president Chris Cahill said the devil would be in the details as to where funding will be focused. "It takes a lot to run a police force, and they sound some big numbers, but most of it will just be absorbed into the increased costs driven by inflation," Cahill said. "But that's much better than falling behind which is what I thought we probably would deal with." The government was also investing $60 million of new funding over the next four years for the Prosecutions Uplift Programme, which was a targeted intervention programme that included improvements to prosecutions, in order to support the court system and reach more timely case resolutions, and funding for administrative police costs like payroll and human resources. Cahill said the programme, which started in Auckland two years ago, was making good gains. "That's good for victims of crime, getting stuff through the courts quicker, it's making it easier for frontline cops to file prosecution files, and also for offenders to get dealt with, it improves justice," he said. In a statement on Thursday, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the Prosecutions Uplift Programme had the added benefit of freeing-up frontline staff from "administrative overhead". "The programme started in July 2023 in Auckland, and its success there means it will now be rolled out nationally," he said. "We're supporting Police to crack down on crime and ensure there are real consequences for offenders." Chris Cahill said there were other areas of the police force where funding needed to be considered, including the vehicles and equipment used by frontline staff. "Clearly, IT continues to need to be upgraded, so it's good to see some investment in that, and we'll just have to see where all the frontline stuff goes, but just the cost of fuel, general inflation matters, will soak up a significant portion of that [$480] million over four years," he said. "We've also got what I call our backbone, our police employees, our non-sworn staff that need to receive pay rises as well, so those types of things will have to be factored in to where this money's spent. "It's a big organisation and it does take a lot to run, but given how tight the government is at the moment, I think we have to be grateful for what's been received." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
