Conservative PCC Scraps Policing Charges for Community Events

Policing charges for community events in Staffordshire have been scrapped by the county’s Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner.

Matthew Ellis, Staffordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), said events with no commercial interest that “benefit the community” were now exempt from the charges.  He said the costs for events that require a police presence can reach up of £7,000, depending on their size.

Mr Ellis said. “The expectation is people will act as stewards, but there will still be police on site.”

He added the safety of community events would not be compromised.  Mr Ellis said residents already paid for policing through local and national taxes so did not see the value of them paying “a third time”.