June 28, 2019 3.39 pm This story is over 57 months old

Lincolnshire Police ‘£15m short of outstanding service’

Mr Jones says he needs 1,350 police officers, 150 PCSOs and another 200 policing staff
Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones. Photo: Steve Smailes for Lincolnshire Reporter

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire says he needs an extra £10 – 15 million a year in order to provide “outstanding” service across the county.

In a report before councillors today, Marc Jones said Lincolnshire Police faces a £6.5 million gap by 2021 if current funding levels don’t change.

This is despite a rise in council tax of 11%, £1.8 million of funding recently announced and £340,000 of additional savings already made.

Following the meeting of the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Panel, Mr Jones told Local Democracy Reporter Daniel Jaines: “I am determined to make sure we apply for every bit of additional funding we can, the £1.8m we’ve received would be a signifier of what we can do, but also I have spoken to both leadership hopefuls and they’ve both given commitments round additional resources for policing.”

The recent funding will see anticipated officer numbers rise from 1,020 to 1,050.

Mr Jones said that he and Chief Constable Bill Skelly’s aim was to get “outstanding” across the board in the force’s national HMI reports.

To do so, he said he needed 1,350 police officers, 150 PCSOs and another 200 policing staff. To make that a reality he said he would need £10-15 million additional funding.

“In the bigger scheme of policing costs that’s small money, the MET police spend £9 million supporting the Notting Hill Carnival for one weekend.

“This is not massive money in the bigger scheme of things but it is where my goal is to deliver the outstanding level of service people deserve,” he said.