GSD says RGP funding up only 10% in real terms, not the 70% Govt claims

The GSD says claims by the Government that it has made a "record investment" into the Royal Gibraltar Police are misleading.

It says presenting the numbers in context would show the GSLP-Liberals have instead "underfunded" the RGP during their time in office.

The Shadow Minister for Justice says it is "simplistic" for the Government to compare the RGP's funding in 2011, when the GSD was in power, and now.

Joelle Ladislaus says to then claim a record investment is "absurd at best and misleading at worst", and "made worse by the fact that funding hasn't changed in the past 5 years".

She says accounting for inflation, the £10.5 million funding in 2011 would be equivalent to £15.5 million as of October 2025. Therefore, she says, the increase in spending during this administration does not equate to more than £1.5 million - calling this a 10% increase in real terms, not the 70% the Government claims.

Mrs Ladislaus says the ratio of police officers to residents has decreased from 2011 to date, given the rise in Gibraltar's population. Therefore, she says, given more pressure on resources, the demands of modern policing, and increasing expectations of policing ahead of the treaty, it is easy to see why the RGP may feel the need for more funding.

Joelle Ladislaus says the public must ask themselves whether the Government is spending money wisely so it has enough to provide essential services, or it if has been spending frivolously - as, she says, is suggested by the most recent Principal Auditor's reports.