Indignant voices are rising in the coastal paradise of Devon and Cornwall, long favored by holidaymakers seeking a haven from the urban grind. But as the tourist tide swells, some believe the very essence of these communities is being eroded, leaving locals drowning in a sea of second homes and stratospheric living costs. In a bold move to stem this tide, local authorities are doubling down on council tax rates for holiday homes – and funneling the windfall into a surprising beneficiary: the police force.
Devon and Cornwall Police, guardians of law and order in this picturesque corner of England, stand to gain a staggering £6 million from April onwards as the tax hike takes effect. For Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez, this unexpected bounty presents a golden opportunity to bolster the thin blue line and reclaim the streets from the specter of crime.
From Holiday Homes to Handcuffs
Commissioner Hernandez has grand designs for her newfound war chest, envisioning a multi-pronged offensive to tackle the scourges of antisocial behavior and drug dealing. Her flagship initiative, the Street Focus project, aims to flood trouble spots with high-visibility patrols, sending a clear message that lawlessness will not be tolerated on her watch.
Piloted in the seaside town of Torquay, Street Focus has already chalked up impressive results, with officers clocking up over 13,000 targeted foot patrols between May and November 2024 alone. These boots on the ground have yielded a bumper crop of 70 arrests, striking fear into the hearts of would-be criminals.
We know that when people see officers in their community and engage with them, their confidence in policing improves.
Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez
Beyond Boots on the Ground
But the commissioner’s ambitions extend far beyond mere foot patrols. She has earmarked funds for a raft of cutting-edge crime-fighting tools, from additional CCTV cameras to keep a watchful eye on the streets, to night buses and street marshals to provide safe passage for revelers navigating the nocturnal economy.
Perhaps most intriguingly, Hernandez plans to deploy the tax windfall to liberate sworn officers from the drudgery of desk work, freeing them up to pound the pavement and strike fear into the hearts of criminals. By shifting backroom roles to civilians, she aims to create a leaner, meaner police force, laser-focused on frontline crime-fighting.
The Price of Policing Paradise
Of course, such bold ambitions come with a hefty price tag. The Devon and Cornwall force requires a staggering £430 million for the 2025-26 financial year, up from £406.5 million the previous year. This ever-expanding budget is cobbled together from a mix of council tax precept payments and government grants, with local residents footing an increasing share of the bill.
In the current financial climate, a whopping 12% of council tax receipts are funneled directly into police coffers – a bitter pill for many taxpayers to swallow. But with the double whammy of council tax hikes on second homes, that bitter pill may prove easier to swallow, knowing that the proceeds are being plowed into a war on crime.
A Tale of Two Counties
The decision to double down on second-home taxes has not been without controversy. In Cornwall alone, the measure is expected to swell council coffers by a cool £25 million – a tempting pot of gold for local authorities grappling with strained budgets and rising demands.
Some argue that this windfall should be plowed into tackling the housing crisis gripping the county, providing a lifeline for locals priced out of the market by the influx of affluent second-home owners. But for now, it seems Cornwall Council has other priorities, opting to channel the funds into shoring up overstretched local services.
Over the border in Devon, the picture is even murkier. Whispers abound that the lion’s share of the second-home tax bonanza may be swallowed up by the county’s voracious appetite for road improvements – a bitter pill for those crying out for investment in housing and public services.
The Thin Blue Line Grows Bolder
But for Commissioner Hernandez and her emboldened police force, the second-home tax hike represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to turn the tide against crime and disorder. Armed with a war chest of millions, they are poised to launch an all-out assault on the forces of lawlessness, determined to restore a sense of safety and security to the streets of Devon and Cornwall.
Only time will tell if this high-stakes gamble will pay off, or if the thin blue line will buckle under the weight of rising expectations and stretched resources. But one thing is certain: in the battle for the soul of the Southwest, the police have just been handed a powerful new weapon – and they’re not afraid to use it.
