Hello

Yesterday I held my first Performance & Accountability Meeting (PAM) of 2026 with Chief Constable Shiner, scrutinising some of the key issues currently affecting policing in Sussex.

The focus of the meeting was the provisional police grant settlement for 2026/27, announced by the Government in December.

Sussex Police was previously forecasting a £4.5 million deficit for 2026/27. However, based on the provisional settlement, Sussex Police’s deficit has now increased to £8.5m.

This further shortfall is a result of the Government’s disastrous decision to consolidate previously specific grants, such as for the recruitment of additional police officers and pay rises, into the core police funding grant.

Before, Sussex Police were rewarded with additional funding for not only hitting their recruitment targets but for over-achieving. Now, rolling this money into the main core grant, means that every police force takes a slice according to an out-dated formula - including Forces like the Met who did not once achieve their targets.

While the Government says this change brings ‘simplicity and flexibility’, the reality is that money is no longer following the people - it is following an outdated, 20-year-old mathematical model and is simply unfair.

The Government’s funding allocation for Sussex Police in 2026/27 is £442.1 million of which 43% comes directly from local taxpayers’ pockets through the police precept - the amount we pay for policing in our council tax.

At the PAM I asked the Chief Constable what this provisional settlement means for Sussex Police and whether we can maintain current police resources without dipping into our reserves.

She told me the Force "will have to look carefully at how we can make sure we achieve the savings required while being prudent in relation to further officer recruitment", agreeing that "this is a tough settlement."

I will be working closely with the Chief Constable and our respective Chief Finance Officers over the coming months to work out how we can balance our books and continue to provide a high quality police service - without overburdening local taxpayers unduly.

Other topics discussed at the PAM were the results of the Force's drink and drug driving campaign (Operation Limit), tackling organised crime and protecting vulnerable residents, and improvements to firearms licensing processes. You can watch a recording of the meeting on my webcasting platform.

Winter of Action

The "Winter of Action" is a national campaign focusing on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, particularly shoplifting and town centre disorder, by increasing police visibility, patrols and community engagement to make everyone safer over the festive season and beyond.

"Winter of Action" in Sussex has seen the momentum build following the “Safer Summer Streets" initiative, prioritising police resources where they are needed the most.

This has included an enhanced police presence in Bognor Regis, Horsham, Bexhill, Crowborough and Seaford as well as in Worthing, Crawley, Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings town centres.

Protecting those in the night-time economy and tackling shoplifting have also been key areas of focus. Police and partners have been working to improve safety by increasing visibility, spreading the word on safety initiatives such as anti-spiking measures, Ask for Angela, and the availability of night safety marshals, street pastors and safe spaces.

Our newly-launched Live Facial Recognition (LFR) Vans are playing a key role and they have been deployed six times so far across the campaign. The vans have been placed in hotspot areas and, across the six deployments, 156,629 faces have been scanned leading to 56 alerts and six arrests.

This week I joined officers and the business crime reduction partnership in Brighton to learn more. This included watching the LFR vans in action - witnessing two further police arrests - visiting businesses on North Street with the Operation Apprentice Team and engaging with members of the public about tackling crime in the city. I look forward to sharing the outcomes of this year's "Winter of Action" campaign with you in a future edition of this newsletter.

We then visited WBC Cares - a dedicated boxing club operating across Sussex, who received funding through my Safer in Sussex Community Fund and our Violence Reduction Partnership. WBC Cares works with children and young people who need a guiding hand to show them what boxing teaches us: sportsmanship, personal discipline and respect. I’ll be sharing more with you about their amazing work in the coming weeks.
 

Katy Bourne OBE
Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner