Plans have been approved to increase the tax residents pay for policing in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent – but the area's crime czar has said the above-inflation rise is "personally disappointing".

Residents living in band D properties will see their annual police precept go up to by £15 a year to £302.57 – a 5.22 per cent rise.

Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Ben Adams presented the force budget for 2026/27 to members of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel at their meeting on Monday (February 2). Panel members voted to approve the proposals.

Mr Adams told the panel of the funding challenges facing forces across the country. He said: "We have got a three-year settlement but it is a cut – a cut to national funding for the police service again.

"I'm very grateful for the comments from residents who recognise just how important their police service is to them and they also recognise the improvement we have been making in the last few years.

"There is an HMI inspection in spring, which I'm very hopeful will confirm the upward trajectory of Staffordshire Police.

"Against that background, the only option to set another precept increase which is above inflation is personally disappointing – I'm not in politics to put taxes up. However I am in this particular job to keep people as safe as I possibly can.

"Over the next three years, if cost increases which are due to inflation and national decisions, particularly on pay, are not met centrally, and there are limits on council tax I believe we should not exceed, it will delay necessary investment in Staffordshire Police and it will impact service levels. I'm afraid that's the situation we're in.

"I'm still committed to investment, particularly in technology, because that improves technology and will reduce our costs in the long term. We're also investing in necessary infrastructure – and I'm very pleased the budget includes for 79 additional officers compared with last year.

"Many of those will be in neighbourhood roles. Some of the costs of those is met by the Government's Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

"There's some positivity to the budget. But for me, unfortunately, requesting that the public pay another £15 on top of their council payments which is over inflation, is not the position I wanted to be in.

"However I think it is the right position. And I'm hoping the panel will support it in the interests of keeping Staffordshire safe."

Details of proposed capital investments in Staffordshire Police over the next four years were also presented to the panel on Thursday – although the future of the force itself is now uncertain.

Last month major national policing reforms were announced by the Government and a review will be launched into reducing the number of forces across England and Wales.

Investments in technology are set to include deployment of body-worn video (BWV) "to enhance evidential integrity and officer safety" and expansion of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) capabilities "to strengthen intelligence and enforcement", a report to the panel said.

And £1m is earmarked towards the force's "AI-enabled digital transformation programme".

The report said: "This initiative will leverage artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to modernise core processes, enhance decision-making, and improve operational efficiency across policing and support functions.

"Key objectives include automating routine tasks, improving data-driven insights for resource deployment and strengthening predictive capabilities for crime prevention.

"The vehicle replacement programme investment of £1.9m (in) 2026/27 will allow for the replacement of 70 vehicles, with the vehicles proposed for replacement being on average seven years old. The further proposed investment in the replacement programme from 2027/28 to 2029/30 will be £6.75m.

"A provision of £7.86m has been allocated for the refurbishment of the Northern Area Police Custody facilities.

"This investment is critical to ensure the continued safety, compliance, and operational effectiveness of the custody environment – the current infrastructure is aging and requires significant upgrades to meet modern standards for detainee welfare, staff working conditions, and legal obligations.

"A provision of £40.5m has been included within the capital programme to deliver a new custody facility in the southern region.

"This investment is essential to manage organisational risks and meet statutory requirements, improve detainee welfare, and enhance operational resilience.

"An approved capital budget of £10.335m has been allocated to ensure the continuation and completion of the Armed Training Facility project.

"This investment is essential to deliver a state-of-the-art training environment that meets operational requirements for specialist firearms officers."