YOU decide on police cuts: INTERACTIVE SURVEY

SOUTH Yorkshire Police Authority is asking the public how it should deal with cuts – with an innovative online budget simulator.

The facility is designed to highlight the difficult challenges faced each year in setting its spending amounts and the knock-on effect on taxes.

It allows web users to make simulated adjustments to key areas like neighbourhood policing, road policing and criminal justice, before submitting their proposals to the authority. 

Authority chairman Charles Perryman said: “It’s vital to ensure that we are placing the most emphasis and resources in the areas which are most important to the people of South Yorkshire.

“For this reason we would like people to indicate where they think we should spend our money by logging on to our budget simulator.

“We value people’s contributions and will certainly take them on board as we plan for the future.”

Visitors are challenged to keep to the overall 2009/2010 budget of £286.56m, with any increases in spending in particular areas needing to be balanced elsewhere to avoid a rise in council tax.

The police budget will be reduced by 20 per cent in real terms over the next four years, Chancellor George Osborne announced in October’s spending review.

To create your own budget for South Yorkshire Police, click here.