THE extra cost of policing West Yorkshire will be more than double the rate of inflation in the coming year.

People will pay an extra 5% after West Yorkshire Police Authority set a budget of £380m yesterday.

And the bad news continues, with police numbers expected to fall and more people possibly becoming crime victims over the next 12 months.

Police authority chairman Clr Mark Burns-Williamson said: "A disappointing financial settlement for 2006/07 was combined with a raft of unavoidable cost increases.

"The gap between what is required and what is available is so great that it can't be closed by council tax rises.

"Reluctantly, we have been obliged to make cuts in many areas. But we have been determined to protect police officer numbers.

"Although police staff posts will reduce slightly, police officer and police staff numbers will remain at historically high levels, with further police community support officers being recruited this year, taking their total to 546.

"We remain focused on improving performance, accepting that results may not be achieved at the same rate as in previous years."

West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn said: "We have had to make real cuts that will impact on the service we offer in order to balance the budget.

"While we will seek to minimise the impact this has on the public there will inevitably be times and locations where this will be felt.

"We face a challenging period in terms of resources, but we are committed to delivering the highest-quality service to people in West Yorkshire.

"Investment over the last three years has enabled the force to achieve some excellent results in fighting crime.

"This has produced a 19% drop in crime. Burglaries have more than halved, robberies are down by half and vehicle crime has reduced by more than 46%."

Under the new budget, council tax Band D households will pay an extra 10p a week for policing. Bands A and B - which make up 65% of the county's households - will each pay 7p or 8p a week more.

Clr Burns-Williamson added: "This budget leaves Band D households paying £112.40 a year. That's a total of £2.16 a week for policing the county.

"Last year we had the seventh-lowest precept across the UK and it's likely that we will maintain that position."