— With tough budget cuts ahead, Lincolnshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Neil Rhodes wrote a letter explaining the upcoming changes in the force’s operations.
Neil Rhodes is the Deputy Chief Constable for Lincolnshire Police
Many people across the county will have heard that from May 31 Lincolnshire Police are changing the way we work.
Lincolnshire as a county is a very safe and pleasant place to live, work in and visit. We are committed to maintaining the quality of policing services and retaining the confidence of the people of Lincolnshire. Our aim is to be there when we are needed and always to be visible and vigilant.
However, we have to achieve these aims whilst meeting unprecedented challenges with a budget that is to reduce broadly by 16% or £19 million over the next four years. Changing the shape of the force is the best way we can do this.
You may have already heard that there will be a reduction of about 70 police officers and 90 police staff posts over the next financial year and that we may have to lose as many as 130 officers over the next four years.
We currently have just under 1,200 police officers and 1,200 police staff. We have worked really hard to ensure the frontline has seen the lowest reduction in staff. Similarly, by managing shifts, duties and annual leave across the whole county, instead of in pockets, we believe we can deliver a better service despite having fewer officers.
We have introduced a more common sense approach to our structure. For many years we operated with the county split into three policing divisions. Moving to a structure without these artificial divisions has enabled us to take out a layer of management.
We have looked carefully at how we provide the 24 hour emergency response. We plan to free up our dedicated response officers from a chunk of paperwork to spend more time dealing with incidents.
In future our response officers will deal with all incidents that need an urgent or priority police attendance. They will carry out initial enquiries to a high standard and then hand over to investigation teams, leaving them free to patrol our communities and continue providing that emergency response.
Because of these changes we are able to transfer a number of officers into what we call our neighbourhood policing teams, those constables and community support officers dedicated to policing the area where you live.
There are currently 56 police constables and 149 PCSOs in neighbourhood policing teams across Lincolnshire. The changing response role has allowed us to really concentrate our resources in neighbourhood policing so that in future there will be about 175 constables (three times as many) and 149 PCSOs in neighbourhood policing teams.
Don’t misunderstand me, they will still have to support their colleagues who respond to emergencies, but their daily focus will be on patrol and working visibly in their communities. From June, the public will start to really feel the benefits of these changes.
We are introducing an appointment system for incidents that don’t require an immediate response. People will be able to make an appointment to see a member of their neighbourhood policing team at a time that suits them.
Our teams dealing with vulnerable children and victims of domestic abuse will remain in place. Specialist units like firearms and dog handlers will remain and be more flexible in their deployment. Dedicated teams of investigators will work on day-to-day crime and make a commitment to keep victims updated on progress.
Many of our officers work in plain clothes, away from public sight, dealing with serious criminals and offences, including prolonged murder enquiries. By working in collaboration with other forces across the East Midlands region we are able to really increase our capacity and resilience so that when demand is high we are able to cope well.
This is the start of an exciting and important time for Lincolnshire Police and the community we serve. Over the coming months we will be reviewing the changes and pressing ahead for further improvement. However, I am well aware that, despite all our planning, over the coming months there will inevitably be some teething problems but we will learn quickly and make improvements.
Our job is to provide the very best policing service to the Lincolnshire community. From 31st May the way we do this may change but our commitment to high standards and working to meet community needs remains steadfast.
If you would like to share your thoughts with me in relation to the changes we are making, I would very much like to hear from you. Please email me or write to me at Police Headquarters, PO Box 999, Lincoln, LN5 7PH.
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Neil Rhodes is the Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police. The role marks the culmination of his police career which began when he joined Lincolnshire in 1986. During 15 years with Lincolnshire Police he progressed from Constable to Superintendent, working across the county as a patrol officer, a detective and in roads policing before joining Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary at superintendent rank.
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People were in happy festive spirits on the second day of the Lincoln Christmas Market and told The Lincolnite they were delighted to see the event back after a year off.
Lincoln Christmas Market was postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it returned this year on Thursday, December 2 and will run until Sunday, December 5.
The 38th Lincoln Christmas Market festive has over 150 stalls and fun for all the family, including a fun fair and big wheel offering spectacular views of Lincoln – see the full list of stalls here.
The Edwards family travel from Leicestershire every year to attend the Lincoln Christmas Market. | Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite
The Lincolnite went to speak to locals and visitors who attended the second day of this year’s Lincoln Christmas Market, including the Canners, the Higgins, the Hawes, and Hewes families who have been at the event several times before, while the Cussans family were visiting for the first time.
It was also great to see such a variety of stalls and the welcome return of iconic Lincoln Christmas Market treats, such as Bratwurst and Mulled Wine.
Ben Smith and Courtney Gregory from German Swing Grill, which sells the iconic Christmas Market treat Bratwurst. | Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite
Neil Martin and John Giles from Steep Hill Wines are selling mulled wine and spiced cider at the Lincoln Christmas Market. | Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite
PCs Kirkwood and Dady patrolling the Christmas Market to ensure everyone remains safe. | Photo: Joseph Verney for The Lincolnite
Scunthorpe-born television heart-throb Jake Quickenden believes the next few weeks could be “make or break” for many smaller venues due to the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the industry.
Panto was unable to go ahead in 2020 due to the pandemic, so it will be a welcome return when The Beauty & The Beast takes centre stage at the New Theatre Royal Lincoln between December 7, 2021 and January, 9, 2022.
Jake plays the part of baddie Flash Hugo and he joins the largest ever cast for Lincoln’s longest running traditional pantomime. Zoe Hanna May from ITV’s The Voice will play the lead role of Belle.
Jake told BBC Look North: “Everything means a lot to them, every show they need to sell so they can keep it open. Just look around, it’s beautiful, you just would not want it to shut down and anything happen to it so it is make or break.”
He added: “I’ve done alright for myself, I’ve come through it and I perform now which I’m so grateful for, but if I hadn’t taken that step into the arts I don’t know what I would be doing, I’d probably still be working at the steelworks as a brickie like I was before.
“We’ve got to think about the younger generation they’re the ones that need levelling up because there the ones that are going to be growing up in Scunthorpe and hopefully having these opportunities.”
Natalie Hayes-Cowley (left), the theatre’s Artistic Director and the show’s producer with three leading cast members – James de Lauch Hay, Jake Quickenden and Zoe Hanna May. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Natalie Hayes-Cowley, the theatre’s Artistic Director, said: “We just navigate it the best we can, even now all we can do is follow government guidelines and just hope that throughout the pantomime run things keep going in the right direction and not backwards, because that would be detrimental for us definitely.”
In upcoming Beauty & The Beast panto, CBBC’s ‘Yonko’ Chris Johnson will play Belle’s father Professor Ivar Brainstorm, while Britain’s Got Talent finalist Christian Lee will play Marcel Allumette, the quirky candelabra.
Strengthening the cast further are Lincoln’s own Chris Hayes, Paul Aitchison, and Georgia Hayes-Cowley, who will star as Humphrey Battenburg, Mary Muffintop and Mindy Singit respectively.
Camilia O’Grady, Vanessa Dumatey and Laura Wenton will be making their New Theatre Royal Lincoln debuts starring as Serenity Rose/Gigi Vavaoo, Cindy Singit and Lindy Singit respectively. The role of Carrie Cupcake will be shared by Ruby Grayson and Kyla Hurdley.
The death of a Red Arrows engineer who lost his life after a jet burst into flames could have been avoided, according to the coroner investigating the incident.
Corporal Jonathan Bayliss, 41, from Ingham in Lincolnshire, lost his life on March 21, 2018, when a Hawk T1 aircraft he was in the rear seat of crashed on the runway at RAF Valley in Anglesey.
A coroner’s inquest into Bayliss’ death found that he died from smoke inhalation and a low grade head injury, as the pilot on board, Flight Lieutenant David Stark, survived after ejecting moments before the plane hit the ground.
Coroner Katie Sutherland rejected calls from Bayliss’ family for a conclusion of unlawful killing, and instead said she would send a report to the Ministry of Defence to draw up steps to be taken in order for future deaths to be prevented.
Flight Lieutenant David Stark joined the Red Arrows in 2017. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
A Defence Safety Authority Service inquiry has resulted in 25 recommendations being made for future incidents, highlighting shortcomings in training for ejection procedures at the time.
In a report published by the DSAS, the Service Inquiry Panel said that the jet departed from the RAF Valley with the intention of simulating an engine failure in a training exercise.
It was then supposed to fly to RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, but during the training manoeuvre, the plane stalled and crashed near the runway, as it was flying too low to recover.
The wreckage lay covered in what looked like red tarpaulin was surrounded by firefighters that afternoon. Photo: David Robert Jones
Ms Sutherland stated that the evidence suggested the crash could have been avoided, and the MoD breached its duty, but not enough to reach a conclusion of corporate manslaughter.
As well as this, it was discovered that surviving pilot David Stark did not breach his duty of care during the incident, and he was carrying out a practised engine failure on take off at the time.
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