An IPCC report has found that complaints filed against Lincolnshire Police have risen 14%, making it the third most complained about force in the country.
Despite a 9% drop in complaints nationally (30,143) over 2011/12, Lincolnshire Police saw a rise of 14% — 490 complaints in comparison to 430 the previous year.
It also received a higher number of allegations for 2011/12 with 767, 53 (7%) more than the previous year.
However, the speed in which it dealt with complaints is improving. Of the 490 complaints filed, 90% were dealt with in under 10 days. In 2010/11, this percentage was at 85%.
Also, of the number of allegations investigated, 96% turned out to be unsubstantiated, and 87% of those finalised by investigation were not upheld.
Despite the force’s rise in unhappy residents, the overall number of complaints and allegations filed against Lincolnshire Police is low agaisnt other forces who may have seen a drop.
Metropolitan Police received over 6,000 complaints in the last year despite a drop of 12%, while Greater Manchester, Thames Valley, Devon and Cornwall, and West Midlands Police all received over 1,000 complaints this year.
Alec Wood, Deputy Chief Constable at Lincolnshire Police, said: “We accept that there has been a 14% increase in overall complaints during the year against the national picture of a reduction of 9% but this must be read in the context that 87% of the complaints investigated were found to be to unproven following investigation.
“This is the third highest percentage of ‘Not Upheld’ complaints in England and Wales. We also have one of the lowest levels of appeals against the outcome of investigations in England and Wales.
“From the 13% of complaints that were found to be justified we have developed lessons from these for new training inputs for officers and staff and every complaint gives us an opportunity to understand and deal with the concerns of our communities and find constructive resolutions.
“We meticulously record complaints made about officers and we are satisfied that our complaint recording procedures are ethical and meet the required standard of the IPCC. We are also committed to understanding the underlying factors behind the level of complaints we receive and dealing with them effectively and efficiently.
“We have created an open and transparent process to enable people to make complaints via many different channels and take every complaint seriously learning from them and aiming to improve the level of service to Lincolnshire’s communities.
“Local resolutions are encouraged by the IPCC and are a way of dealing with complaints by solving, explaining, or settling matters directly with the complainants. Lincolnshire Police has the second highest percentage of locally resolved complaints in England and Wales with 47% locally resolved in agreement with complainants’ wishes.This is 20% above the national average, showing that we are engaging with complainants and listening to what they want.”
Spotted an error? Please notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice issued an appeal for donations of winter clothes to its multiple charity shops across the county ahead of the upcoming colder months.
The charity is calling for donations at its Lincoln High Street stores near the railway crossing and at the bottom of Steep Hill, as well as at the Nettleham Fields branch near Asda.
Donation calls have also been made for the Skegness and Boston stores, too, as St Barnabas urgently tries to gather items to sell in its charity shops for the winter season.
Items can be donated at the charity shops themselves, at a limit of a maximum of three bags or boxes, and you can also book furniture collections online.
Head of Retail at St Barnabas, Caroline Peach, said: “We’re really looking for quality winter clothing at the moment, people are looking for bargains when it comes to clothing and accessories such as shoes and handbags too.
“We’re after quality, rather than quantity. Our clothes always sell really well, so the better condition something is in, the better.
“Both of our Lincoln High Street shops need donations as do other shops such as Skegness, Boston and our Lincoln Nettleham Fields shop.
“We are asking people to phone ahead before they donate if possible as we tend to be limited on space at times.
“If you can donate just a few items at a time, but often, that really helps with our stock levels and our ability to take in your amazing items. We are truly grateful to everyone who donates.”
For enquiries about donations, either call 01522 559500 or email [email protected].
A 47-year-old ex-Royal Marine from Lincolnshire has broken three world records for running half marathons with heavy loads on his back in just two weeks, raising over £4,000 for charity in the process.
Collin Harrison, 47, from Dunston, is the new world record holder for half marathon times with 60lb, 80lb and 100lb load carries on his back, after he completed two mammoth races in the space of 14 days in September 2021.
Collin is a former Royal Marine who has been out of the corps for almost ten years, and he told The Lincolnite that his feat of endurance came about from a knock back when he tried to rejoin the Marines.
“I tried to reapply for the Marines about three years ago, and was told that I couldn’t join because of my age, and if there’s one thing you never do, it’s telling a Marine they can’t do something.
“That became my main motivation, so I picked up a Guinness World Records book and decided to see what the records were for half marathons while carrying weight on your back.
“I’d done challenges for Children with Cancer UK before, and decided to try and break the world record for a half marathon with a 100lb load on my back to raise money for charity again.”
Collin trained for 21 months for the event, and wasn’t going to let anything get in his way. | Photo: Scottish Half Marathon
Collin took on the challenge to raise money for Royal Marines Charity as well as Children With Cancer UK, and his efforts have raised an incredible £4,352 at the time of reporting. You can donate to Collin’s cause here.
Collin started training in November 2019, but after the outbreak of coronavirus and subsequent lockdowns, his plans were disrupted and there were even times where he feared his efforts might be for nothing.
He said: “It felt after six months of lockdowns and event cancellations like it would never happen, I worried that I was going to physically break before I got the chance to complete the races.”
Eventually, lockdowns were lifted and races were back on, so Collin entered both the Southampton and Scotland half marathons to try and take on an unprecedented feat.
It was physically and mentally gruelling, but Collin proved that age is just a number. | Photo: Scottish Half Marathon
On September 5, 2021, Collin ran the Southampton half marathon with 60lbs on his back in a world record time of 1:54:34, some 15 minutes quicker than the previous record.
Amazingly, just 14 days after that, Collin topped his own achievements at the Scottish half marathon. He ran with a 100lb weight on his back and broke the 100lb world record time of 3:16:36 by running a monstrous time of 2:11:38. That’s over an HOUR quicker than the last record.
As if that wasn’t enough, he also broke the 80lb record of 2:30:00 with 20lb extra on his back. And he did all this after one of the straps on his bag snapped during the race, meaning he did the last three miles with most of the weight on one shoulder.
Collin is adamant he would have broken his own 60lb record at the Scottish half had it not been for the strap snapping, which gives you an indication as to just how remarkable his fitness levels are.
Discussing the importance of raising money as well as breaking the world records, Collin added: “As soon as that first pound was donated, I knew I was doing it regardless.
“If I’d only raised £10, it was more than they would have without my fundraiser, so to raise as much as I have is obviously fantastic.
“Records are immaterial to me, this was about showing the powers that be that you shouldn’t judge people on their age, only on their ability.”
Collin uploaded the footage of his world record run at the Scottish Half Marathon to YouTube, and has sent the footage over to Guinness as proof of his accomplishment.
A 23-year-old man from Lincoln with autism and ADHD has won an incredible seven medals at the 2021 Disability British Gymnastics Championships, including two golds.
Blake Gidley, 23, from Lincoln Gymnastics Club, competed in the national championships in Stoke-on-Trent on Sunday, October 17, and took home gold medals in the rings event and the all-around, which is a cumulative competition of all disciplines of gymnastics.
He also won silver in the floor, vault, parallel bars and high bar events, as well as bronze on the pommel horse, to round off a magnificent day for the young man.
A remarkable medal haul for a remarkable local athlete. | Photo: Sarah Gidley
Blake has ADHD and autism, and has dreams of representing his country at the Olympic Games in the future, as his class is not currently a Paralympic event.
He has been a gymnast for 13 years, and fell in love with it from the moment he first tried gymnastics as a 10-year-old boy.
Blake showcased his incredible balance and all-round gymnastics skills at the championships. | Photo: Sarah Gidley
Blake’s mum Sarah told The Lincolnite: “It’s not really sunk in what he has achieved yet, I just cannot believe we have a British champion in our family.
“Everyone at Lincoln Gymnastics Club has been so supportive and we are all just so proud of him.”
Sarah takes her son to Nottingham for extra training each week with specialist coaches, in the hope of developing his skills enough to make the courageous leap to the next level of his sport.
“He is desperate to be at the Olympics as a rings specialist,” Sarah said. “He really wants to share his story and inspire people that are like him.”
A plaque awarded to Blake for winning the Open Class 1 event. | Photo: Sarah Gidley
Blake sent a message to The Lincolnite after his success, thanking everyone for their support.
He said: “I would firstly like to say thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped me get to this point so far.
“It was an amazing experience and I am so proud to be able to represent people with autism and ADHD and to show that if you work hard, believe in yourself and never give up, it is possible to achieve amazing things. You shouldn’t let your disabilities hold you back from achieving your dreams.”
His triumphs in Stoke-on-Trent were his first taste of national success, and now he will be hoping to replicate that glory at next year’s championships in Liverpool.
Whatsapp
