Second worse-affected force in the country on funding deficit

The HMIC assessment of Medium / High is wrong. It is a nationally recognised fact that Avon and Somerset Police are underfunded. Avon and Somerset is the second worse-affected force in the country in terms of the government’s funding formula, which means we have faced a total funding shortfall of around £60million for the last five years.

It has fallen to the local council tax payer to help make up that shortfall.

Total cost of policing (Most Similar Group Average)

Measure	ASPA Score	MSG Average	+/-%
Cost per head of Pop	£184	£183	+0.5%

Within our peer group (whose community and policing profiles are vastly different to our own), our cost of policing is just 0.5% or £1 above the average.

However, when we compare with a national picture that takes account of other more similar forces, what we spend on policing is 8.9% below the national average. We believe we provide extremely good value for money. If we were to be fully funded, our annual cost of policing in 2009/10 would have been £191 per head, which is still 5.4% below the national average.

Total cost of policing (National Average)

Measure	ASPA Score	National Average	+/-%
Cost per head of Pop	£184	£202	-8.9%