Lincolnshire Police Commissioner says government policing reforms are ‘flawed’

The Government has announced that police forces, including Lincolnshire’s cash-strapped force, will be forced to respond to emergency calls faster in England and Wales under new reforms.

Response officers will be expected to reach the scene of the most serious incidents within 20 minutes in rural areas, and forces will be expected to answer 999 phone calls within 10 seconds to ensure the same level of response to crimes.

Meanwhile other reforms will also reduce the number of uniformed officers needing to be stuck in ‘back-office’ roles.

The government will introduce national standards for response times to lower priority incidents.

Some of the reforms are welcomed by Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones, who said: “Any reduction in red tape that allows officers to spend less time doing paperwork rather than policing our streets is to be welcomed.

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

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

In December, Lincolnshire Police chiefs announced they would have to redeploy officers from other departments to cover response and other serious crime areas due to staff shortages.

The Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has also announced plans for an FBI style force to take on the most serious, and organised crimes, freeing up forces for more localised matters.

Mr Jones said: “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. 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.”

Currently, the Home Office says police are not held accountable if response time targets are not met. It says reforming the system will create more transparency and consistency across the country.

Where forces fail to deliver, the Home Secretary will send in experts from the best performing forces to improve their performance, including when unmet response‑time targets are part of broader systemic failing.

To fight everyday crime, the government will ramp up its pledge to restore visible neighbourhood policing and patrols in communities with every council ward in England and Wales having its own named, contactable officers with a deeper understanding of the issues in their area.

Residents will be guaranteed a response to neighbourhood queries within 72 hours, outlining the steps being taken to address these issues.

Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: “Everyday crimes are on the rise across the country and too often there seem to be no consequences.

“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 claimed there is an “epidemic of everyday offences” that affect communities. It said shop theft has risen nationally by 72 per cent since 2010 and street theft is up by 58 per cent.

It said crime reporting and paperwork across law enforcement has also chained officers to their desks, while outdated systems and unnecessary forms take them away from the frontline.

To turnaround this situation, the government will slash red tape and cut unnecessary admin so that officers are back on the streets. Work is underway to review and reduce the unnecessary recording of non-crime incidents while police funding reform will give forces the flexibility to move officers from support roles to the frontline.

Police chiefs were previously forced to maintain arbitrary officer headcounts each year via the Officer Maintenance Grant. This led to forces hiring uniformed officers and then, in some cases, putting them in back-office roles instead of out in communities, tracking down suspects and attending call outs from victims.

The government will scrap this Officer Maintenance Grant to put more officers in communities and high streets.

The Neighbourhood Policing Pathway, a new bespoke training programme, has been set up to ensure that neighbourhood officers have the best possible tools to gather intelligence and catch offenders. The programme has been piloted in 11 forces and is currently being expanded across the country to deliver a consistent, high-quality service across forces.

Alongside these reforms, the government is investing £18.4 billion to restore neighbourhood policing, cut crime and catch criminals. This is an increase of over £3 billion and an 11 per cent real terms increase compared to 2023/24.

John Hayward-Cripps, Chief Executive of Neighbourhood Watch, said: "It's a very basic expectation that police will respond when you report a crime, and quickly when it is serious. When that doesn't happen, it's not just frustrating, it is very stressful and it damages trust. The data shows that there is real variation in how well different forces respond to incidents. Police effectiveness, and the trust we place in the police, is built on the relationships that they have and maintain with the public."

Association of Convenience Stores Chief Executive James Lowman said: “Retailers tell us that the single most effective way to deter crime in communities is to have more police presence. We strongly welcome the government's extended Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, and will work with both national government and local forces to further build the relationships between officers and businesses.”