I was privileged recently to attend an awards ceremony at police HQ. The stories behind some of the awards and commendations quite rightly made headlines because the recipients displayed courage and a dedication to public service that was extraordinary.
Everyone who was there – including family and friends – deserved, and received, recognition and thanks. In different ways, they are all involved with the policing of the county.
The ethos of PRIDE (Professionalism, Respect, Integrity, Dedication and Empathy) runs deep in our police officers, staff and volunteers, and encourages the sort of commitment that helps to keep Lincolnshire one of the safest counties in the country.
As commissioner it’s my job to make sure that continues to be the case. I’m proud of the members of our policing family, whatever role they play; thanks to them I can look back on 2015 as yet another challenging but rewarding year.
Challenging because the types of crime that could threaten your safety and security are changing all the time. It’s not enough to play catch-up with criminals; effective policing means being one step ahead. It means catching criminals and driving down crime; it means using the latest technology to ensure that as many officers as possible are patrolling the county rather than being burdened with paperwork; it means working effectively with our partners in other forces, the wider criminal justice system, local authorities, and emergency services.
Reported crime in Lincolnshire continues to fall. The effectiveness of our officers will be enhanced by the introduction across the force of the latest communication technology.
Partnership working is perhaps the only aspect of our operations that I view with some caution – simply because many of the partners are public sector organisations facing tough financial decisions. I like to think that, where cuts are made, they won’t impact on the way in which we do business.
We operate at the second lowest cost per head of population in the country. By continuing a drive for efficiency we can face the future with confidence that you will continue to receive the policing you deserve.
Another positive during 2015 was the opportunity for me to commission a new service for victims and witnesses. Victim Lincs has been operational for only a few months, but the dedicated team has already received thousands of calls from people who need help at a traumatic time in their lives.
And, despite continuing financial pressure, I have kept my commitment to ensuring that the Chief Constable has sufficient funds so that officer numbers can remain at 1100, with 149 PCSOs.
In short, I have protected neighbourhood policing – which I have always considered to be the backbone of an effective force.
I’d like to thank the people of Lincolnshire who’ve made their own contribution to keeping the county safe by ensuring that their property and belongings are secure, for instance, taking a friendly interest in the welfare of neighbours, or maybe reporting incidents that cause concern to themselves or their community. For many people this sort of thing is second nature.
I’ll end by referring briefly to our long, hard-fought campaign for fairer government funding. The income I received from the Home Office in 2015/16 was £65.9m. The provisional figure for 2016/17 is £65.5m.
I cautiously welcome this, however the new funding formula which has been delayed must ensure those forces such as Lincolnshire that have a history of delivering efficiencies are not penalised in the future.
The new funding arrangements need to incentivise those less efficient forces into action. The Home Affairs Committee looking at reform of the formula seems to agree. The committee report says that any future formula must ensure that low cost per capita forces which anticipated potential reductions to their budgets and made the necessary efficiencies before others, are not unfairly penalised.
It adds that more should be done to reward or compensate those who have been historically more efficient. Of course I agree.
My best wishes for the festive season and for a happy and peaceful New Year.
My New Year’s Resolution
I never make them. But one of my hopes for 2016 is that those who make a positive difference to the lives of people in our county, in any capacity, continue their good work.
Before being elected as Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner in 2012, Alan Hardwick worked as a communications professional on newspapers, radio, television and latterly with Lincolnshire Police Authority.
Before being elected as Commissioner in 2012, Mr Hardwick worked as a communications professional on newspapers, radio, television and latterly with Lincolnshire Police Authority. Throughout his career, he built up a wide experience of police and policing in the UK. He is passionate about Lincolnshire and about ensuring – with the Chief Constable – the effectiveness and efficiency of a force that has recently been praised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Prime Minister.
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Lloyds Banking Group will close 28 branches across the country this year, including the only bank left in Bourne.
The group, which owns Lloyds and Halifax, has blamed failing customer numbers on the closures, which will take place between August and November this year.
20 Lloyds Bank and eight Halifax branches will close nationally across this time period, with Bourne being the only Lincolnshire area to be affected.
Bourne’s Lloyds Bank branch closes on November 21, and it is a bitter blow to the market town as it will now be left without a central bank, meaning residents will have to travel elsewhere.
However, Lloyds Banking Group has said that all affected places have a free cash machine or Post Office within a mile, allowing customers access to limited banking services in their towns or villages.
You cannot open a bank account at these sites, or sort issues with an existing account, but some services can be accessed via free cash machines or Post Office branches if need be – such as withdrawing and depositing cash or cheques if you are a Lloyds customer.
It is the latest in a long line of closures for the group, as the shift towards online and mobile banking continues to gather momentum in the modern age.
These 28 branch closures will bring the total figure of shut down Lloyds Banking Group sites to 88 by the end of 2022.
Plans to expand and refurbish Alford’s public library and toilets have been revealed.
Alford Town Council has applied to East Lindsey District Council to partially demolish the existing library building, known as Alford Focal Point, and the public toilet block on South Market Place and replace them with an extension which will create additional rooms and new facilities.
The council was given the library building by Lincolnshire County Council in 2021 and the public toilets by East Lindsey District Council in 2020 as the authorities looked to save cash in their own budgets by cutting down on maintenance.
A design and access statement said the proposals will provide a dedicated children’s library which will also include the ability to be used for public events such as playgroups, yoga classes and social events. Income from hire will go to the library charity running the building.
The plans show a dedicated computer space and café servery. An additional office space will also be created which can be hired out for use or used by council officers and members of other public bodies.
A new lift and disabled accessibility features will be included in the build, while dedicated office space for the town council’s clerk will be included.
Designs for the new library submitted to East Lindsey District Council.
The statement said the public toilets, built in the 1970s, were “tired”.
The proposals will see the existing facility upgraded with five general unisex toilets and one changing places/disability friendly toilet.
“The fundamental objective of this project is to reinvigorate this key existing social hub for the town of Alford and the surrounding wider areas, to ensure the longevity of this important community asset and resource,” said the document.
“Failure to move forward and evolve with the modern requirements of its users will ultimately result in obsolescence and subsequent closure.”
How the library and toilet extension could look.
In 2016, the library was taken over by a group of volunteers after the county council outsourced 16 of its “core” libraries to Greenwich Leisure and handed 30 others to local groups as part of a bid to save £1.9million.
At the time it was given an interior refurbishment and decoration in a bid to attract new users.
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