Government announcement ‘doomed to fail’, police commissioner says

The government says it will cut red tape and set stricter national targets for response in a bid to “restore neighbourhood policing”.

As previously reported, officers will be expected to reach the scene of the most serious crimes within 15 minutes in urban areas, or 20 minutes in the countryside.

The government has also pledged to reduce the paperwork for lesser incidents, allowing support officers to be placed back on the frontline.

However Lincolnshire’s Police & Crime Commissioner Marc Jones, an Independent, has said he’s sceptical of the promised changes.

“Any reduction in red tape that allows officers to spend less time doing paperwork rather than police our streets is to be welcomed,” he said.

“However it is self-evident that response times are largely dependent on available resources, and that means any attempt to improve them will require the necessary funding to improve officer numbers.

“We have worked hard in Lincolnshire to deliver the best 999 call answering times in the country. However, decades of under-funding from the government mean it has been frustratingly difficult to match this with officer numbers to respond to the calls taken.”

Policing experts will be sent into areas which are failing to meet the targets, the government says.

Mr Jones went on to criticise plans for a merger of the country’s 43 forces into 12 regional constabularies, with Lincolnshire being absorbed into the East Midlands.

“The starting point of the Home Secretary’s review into policing is completely flawed. Without a Royal Commission to examine what the public want from policing, all of the reforms are rudderless and doomed to fail,” he said.

“Taking away local police forces in favour of a regional model will not improve the service for Lincolnshire residents.

“If we think a chief constable sitting in Nottingham or Leicester, focused on organised crime in the East Midlands will improve policing for our communities then we are very much mistaken.

“Police by consent has never been under more threat by the autocratic proposals being put forward to give massive political power to the Home Secretary regardless of local needs. I am very fearful for the future of policing moving forward.”

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood claims the reforms would hold all police forces accountable, while cutting low-level crime.

“Everyday crimes are on the rise across the country and too often there seem to be no consequences,” she said.

“People are reporting crimes and then waiting hours or even days for a response. By the time the police arrive, the perpetrators and witnesses are long gone.

“I will restore neighbourhood policing and scale up patrols in communities to catch criminals and cut crime.”

The government says it is investing £18billion in neighbourhood policing – a £3billion increase on three years before.

Lincolnshire Police is currently facing a budget crisis, which could force it to cut officers and staff within months if it doesn’t receive emergency financial assistance.