The Sussex Police portion of the 2026/27 council tax bill is to increase by £15 – the maximum allowed.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Police and Crime Panel on Friday 30 January.
Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said, “There is an expectation now from government that every Police and Crime Commissioner will raise by the maximum. It’s baked in now to the grant that government give us.”
She described that £442.1m grant as “inadequate for our needs.”
The £15 increase will bring in around £11.7m but the force will still be left with an £7.5m gap in its budget in 2026/27.
At the same meeting, Katy Bourne was censured for her decision to join a march protesting the housing of asylum seekers at a military site in Crowborough.
Tabling the motion, Paul Keene, of Lewes District Council, said the panel had “lost confidence in the commissioner and the commissioner’s conduct.”
Despite being warned that they did not have the power to hand out discipline this way, most panel members supported the motion.
Mrs Bourne said she would be complaining to the monitoring officer, calling the motion and the line of questioning she had faced – including references to a petition calling for her to resign – “harrassment”.
She added, “I feel threatened by it. You know my history of having been stalked and I think it’s a very unreasonable abuse of your powers and your responsibilities and you’re not behaving as a critical friend, as you should be.”
Mrs Bourne is the Conservative candidate for mayor of Sussex.
It was pointed out by Christine Bayliss, of Rother District Council, that she had not made it clear on social media that she was talking in that capacity, rather than as Police and Crime Commissioner. “It is very regrettable that you chose to become politically involved in the scenario.”
Defending her decision to attend the march, Mrs Bourne said, “I’m the voice of the public in policing. My job is to listen to the public and understand their concerns. I think I’ve represented the public’s views and their concerns in the way I should in my role.”
The motion was carried by ten votes to four with one abstention. The chair said he would discuss the situation with the clerks about next steps.
Image Credits: Sussex Police , Jon Rigby .
I support Mrs Bourne’s right to demonstrate and express her opinions as she sees fit, especially at this time when the right of all of us to protest is under attack.
However, I also find it chilling that the person in charge of protecting us all would be a part of an event intimidating the most vulnerable people in our society.
I’ve got every sympathy for Mrs Bourne as a victim of stalking, that must be an awful thing to go through. But as police commissioner she of all people should be aware that being the victim of a crime does not absolve you of responsibility for your future actions, and certainly does not free you form scrutiny when you hold public office.
It’s safe to assume that many of the poor refugees forced to live at the military site in Crowborough she was protesting, have also been the victims of all number of crimes, violence, oppression, slavery, persecution, human trafficking. Why would she withhold from them the same courtesy she asks of for herself?