A row has broken out between police and crime commissioner Sir Clive Loader and Leicestershire County Council.
The disagreement centres on how a £1.6 million Government crime-fighting fund should be distributed.
The money used to be paid directly to the county council but now goes to Sir Clive, who was elected to the post three months ago and who is responsible for deciding how it is spent.
Most of the money is pooled with other funding bodies, including the NHS and the probation service, to pay for services such as drug and alcohol treatment and the management of offenders in the community.
Some is used to fund smaller, local crime-prevention projects.
Sir Clive has told the county council he will give it half of the cash to cover the six months from April but not, for now, the full year's grant.
Before deciding to release the rest of the money he has told the council he wants to see evidence it is being used efficiently and that the services deliver results.
The county council said the decision was taken without sufficient consultation and has led to uncertainty about the future of some of the services it provides – and the future of a number of jobs.
The county council has released correspondence to the Mercury – in the form of e-mails and text messages – between Sir Clive and the authority, which is run by fellow Conservatives.
In one exchange, Sir Clive said he could no longer work with the chief executive of the county council – John Sinnott – who had written a letter to him outlining the council's and councillors' concerns.
County council leader Nick Rushton said he hoped the dispute could be resolved and a sound working relationship restored.
The dispute was expected to come to a head at a meeting of the police and crime panel – the group of councillors which was put together to scrutinise the commissioner – at County Hall today.(JAN 30)
The exchange of correspondence revealed Sir Clive believed the decision to set aside time at today's meeting for discussion of the dispute was "appalling".
A county council spokesman said: "Community safety services provided by local authorities and other partners have been instrumental in reducing the crime rate and the county council is concerned that the commissioner's proposals put those services and our successful partnership arrangements at risk."
Sir Clive said: "I want to make long-term decisions, commissioning the right services from the right providers, creating long-standing working relationships built on trust and confidence.
"In my view, to do this in haste would be dangerous.
"We are all working for the public and that public expects and deserves us to work together efficiently and effectively."
Also at today's meeting, Sir Clive was due to talk through a draft version of his plan for policing in Leicestershire for the next five years.
He has indicated he will freeze council tax payers' contribution to policing – the precept – at current levels for the next two years.
Sir Clive, who was elected to the post in November, wants Chief Constable Simon Cole and his officers to continue to drive down offences such as burglary, vehicle crime, robbery, sexual assault, domestic abuse and alcohol-related violence.
He set out his vision for dealing with alcohol and drug addiction and addressing the cost to the force of missing person inquiries, particularly cases of people who repeatedly leave local authority care or mental health units.
Sir Clive is to hold a series of meetings with residents and interest groups to listen to their concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour.
The draft plan can be seen at: www.leics.pcc.police.uk
