December 16, 2021 5.06 pm This story is over 27 months old

Cautiously optimistic response to government announcement on police funding

Force working through details of the announcement

Home Secretary Priti Patel has today announced that policing will receive a funding boost of up to £1.1 billion next year.

The 2022/23 funding package represents a 7% cash increase on last year and means policing will receive up to £16.9 billion in total in 2022/23.

The full details of the announcement can be found here: Policing to receive up to £1.1 billion extra to cut crime

The force is working through exact details of the announcement to understand precisely what it means for Lincolnshire.

Chief Constable Chris Haward said: “It’s good news that policing will receive a cash boost because it should provide some certainty for the future and means we should be able to continue to invest in priority areas in Lincolnshire to ensure the county is the safest place to live, work and visit.

“We are working through the exact details of what the announcement will mean for us here in Lincolnshire but remain cautiously optimistic.

“This should enable us to further focus on areas that really impact on our communities, including violence against women and girls, drugs gangs and issues, serious violent crime, and neighbourhood crime.

“Historically Lincolnshire hasn’t been given a particularly fair deal when it comes to being allocated funding from the central government funding package but our officers and staff have continued to do an exceptional job in keeping our communities safe, even when faced with the unprecedented demand we’ve seen recently.

“I know that we’ll continue to police to that high standard and I, along with the PCC and Chief Officer colleagues, will continue to petition government to ensure our allocation of the funding formula allows our officers and staff the means to provide policing to Lincolnshire that keeps people safe and protects them from harm.”