Police chiefs face a bleak choice between cutting services or hitting stretched families with council tax hikes - as a desperate plea is issued to Liz Truss.
A commissioner warned that soaring inflation and energy price rises mean more than 1% of his force's annual budget will be swallowed up by extra costs.
Dr Alan Billings, police and crime commissioner for South Yorkshire, shared a bleak outlook days before the government unveils its mini budget aimed at tackling the cost of living crisis.
He said South Yorkshire Police is projected to be hit by £3.7 million in additional costs over the next year - and does not have the cash reserves to meet the extra expenditure.
The Labour crime commissioner told The Mirror that this has "serious consequences" for policing as bosses around the country grapple with similar issues.
He said: “We need the government to understand that we cannot make up locally through council tax for the mistakes they have made nationally by failing to get on top of inflation."
Force bosses across the UK are facing up to eye-watering decisions as they try to balance the books for the next year and make sure services do not suffer.
Dr Billings said: “The rising costs of energy and inflation generally are a cause of real concern as I look ahead to setting the budget for next year.
"There is still much to understand around the impact inflation will have but we estimate that energy costs alone could add around £3.7m to the bill on a total budget of approximately £300m.
"We are waiting to see what plans the new Prime Minister has to support the public sector in meeting these costs."#
If no additional support is forthcoming, he stated, he will be forced to choose between raising the council tax bill at a time when households are already stretched, or making cuts.
Dr Billings, who was first elected back in 2014, continued: “For the rest of this financial year, inflation is rising at a higher rate than we had planned for in the budget, which has consequences for all public services, including policing. It will make it harder to balance the books this year.
“All this has serious consequences for policing.
“If the government doesn’t shoulder some of these accelerating costs our only options are either to cut services or increase the precept part of the council tax or both. We do not have the reserves to make up the difference between income and expenditure."
He raised the alarm about a jump in council taxes, saying people can ill afford it, and said it would not have the same effect as it would in wealthier parts of the country.
He stated: “As I begin to look at the budget for policing for the year April 2023 to March 2024 I do realise that there are limits to what people can be expected to contribute locally in addition to the other cost of living pressures they faces.
"South Yorkshire is an area where many people are already struggling financially. Most properties here are in bands A and B so that an increase in the precept does not yield as much here as it would in other, more prosperous parts of the country.”
On Friday Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is set to unveil his mini-budget aimed at delivering tax cuts promised by Ms Truss and helping struggling Brits with soaring energy bills.
During the Conservative leadership race, Ms Truss vowed to hold an "emergency budget" to help grow the economy after the Bank of England warned the country faced the prospect of a recession.
