Lincolnshire Police ranks boosted by 81 additional officers in Government backed recruitment drive

Lincolnshire Police have gained 81 extra officers so far in the recruitment campaign.

The news comes as the Home Office announced today (Thursday) that so far police forces across the East Midlands region have recruited an additional 492 officers since the launch of a new campaign by the Prime Minister to recruit 20,000 more officers over the next three years for police forces across the country by 2023.

The Government is bolstering police forces with extra officers and resources to cut crime and keep communities safe, as new statistics show that an additional 6,620 officers have joined forces across England and Wales.

Figures published today (Thursday) show progress from the launch of the campaign up to the end of December remains ahead of schedule, having exceeded the target to recruit 6,000 officers by March 2021.

Lincolnshire’s ranks have been boosted by an additional 81 recruits on top of its baseline number of 1,020, helping to keep people safe by supporting the police response to the pandemic, helping to stop the spread of coronavirus by assisting with enforcement action against those flouting the rules.

The recruitment drive is at the centre of the Government’s promise to back the police with more resources and support to cut crime, and today the Home Secretary Priti Patel has also announced an additional £20 million to help crack down on ‘neighbourhood crimes’ like burglary, robbery, theft and vehicle crime.

This funding forms the second round of the Safer Streets fund, which launched in January last year. It will be open to both Police and Crime Commissioners and local authorities and go towards local-crime cutting interventions in residential areas.

This includes simple changes to the design of high-crime areas, such as improved home security, increased street lighting and the installation of CCTV.

The announcement will bring total investment in Safer Streets to £45m over two years, supporting areas that are disproportionately affected by neighbourhood crime with the tools to deliver tangible and sustainable impacts.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “I am delighted we have exceeded our own target to recruit 6,000 additional police officers by March 2021.

“Keeping our streets is my absolute priority and many of these new officers in the East Midlands are already on our streets helping to fight the coronavirus pandemic, and for that they get my huge thanks.

“These new officers, on top of further funding to tackle crimes such as burglary, robbery and vehicle crime will ensure the police have the powers, tools and resources they need to cut crime and make you feel safer in your community.”