Lincolnshire Police officers have second lowest level of morale in national survey

The survey conducted by the Police Federation revealed that 87 per cent of Lincolnshire officers felt that force morale is low. 

Barry Steele, Branch Board Secretary of the Lincolnshire Police Federation said: ”This is not a case of police officers moaning and wringing their hands at a time when others are losing their livelihoods and businesses are failing, this is our officers expressing their sheer frustration at being prevented from delivering the public service that our communities deserve. Officers need to feel that they are servicing the public rather than simply ensuring compliance with HMICFRS, the College of Policing or the internal frameworks of Lincolnshire Police.

“Our thin blue line is trying to dance with an elephant on its back, spending more effort satisfying cumbersome policy and inspection criteria rather than having the agility to directly tackle the crime and anti-social behaviour that blights the communities they serve, the communities that our officers live in.”

In the 2020 survey federation members have again sent the signal that nothing has improved in the last 12 months, while they claim the force leadership continues to prioritise compliance, it is officers and ultimately the public who are getting short changed. 

The federation will be working with the incoming new Chief Constable and the Police and Crime Commissioner to ensure that the thin resources of Lincolnshire Police are correctly targeted and focused. The federation will seek to ensure that the uplift of officer numbers is deployed to deliver quality public service rather than “servicing the requirements of Lincolnshire Police and national agencies”.

In response, Chief Constable Bill Skelly said: “During this year, we have faced unprecedented demands due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and our officers have responded magnificently throughout this difficult time.

“They face unique and challenging situations every day and there’s no doubt that these experiences can have an impact on their wellbeing.

“The physical and mental health of our officers continues to be a priority for the force and we have introduced several wellbeing initiatives. Most recently, we worked with the federation to deliver an enhanced care package which supports officers who have been assaulted in the line of duty.

“However, what has come out of this survey is that officers feel that resources are stretched.

“Lincolnshire Police continues to be the lowest funded force in the country, and this understandably has an impact on our officers.

“Not having sufficient resources to deal with crime and respond to incidents often places an unreasonable strain on the workforce.

“The good news is that 166 officers will be recruited by 2023 as part of our Uplift Programme.

“I’m confident that the extra resources will make our communities even safer, provide resilience for our hard-working officers, and have a considerable positive impact on their wellbeing.”

The Home Office praised “brave police officers and staff” who have worked “heroically to protect the public during the pandemic”, adding that anyone, including police, has access to coronavirus tests if needed.