UPDATE: More than 400 Lincolnshire Police officers and staff to go due to £14m funding gap

Officer numbers are to be cut as the Force aims to balance its budget.Officer numbers are to be cut as the Force aims to balance its budget.
Officer numbers are to be cut as the Force aims to balance its budget.
Lincolnshire Police are to lose more than 400 officers and staff in response to a £14 million budget gap for next year.

The Force says the months ahead will bring difficult times as it aims to balance its budget while still delivering a policing model that will keep the public of Lincolnshire safe.

A statement outlining the challenges ahead was released following the announcement of the Government funding settlement for policing, which did not deliver the fair funding that Lincolnshire Police had hoped and lobbied for.

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Extra funding of up to £174.1 million allocated to the East Midlands for neighbourhood policing – a cash increase of 6.0% reportedly to fund officers to be allocated to keep our streets safe – was not enough to avoid cuts, according to the Force..

Up to 1000 officers to go as Lincolnshire Police faces £14m funding gap.Up to 1000 officers to go as Lincolnshire Police faces £14m funding gap.
Up to 1000 officers to go as Lincolnshire Police faces £14m funding gap.

Initially it was believed there would have to be a reduction of police officer numbers by around 200 to 1,000, to be delivered by 2028/2029,

However, after spending more time looking at it in detail, the Force has sent out the ‘stark message’ the reduction to the organisation is more likely to be over 400 officers and staff.

Chief Constable Paul Gibson said: “We have just received the settlement for Lincolnshire Police and need to spend some time looking at it in detail.

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"Out first assessment is as per our forecasts, there is a deficit of at least £14 million for 2025/26. There may be some potential extra money to support the neighbourhood policing pledge.

"We welcome any additional funding that is allocated to policing but unfortunately this will be a tiny percentage of what we need. The letter sent does commit for Home Office officials to work with us on our funding situation, which we have been seeking since August, and we welcome this and will fully engage.

"There is a simple and stark message: without urgent and significant funding, I will need to reduce our organisation by over 400 officers and staff. "I have reluctantly cancelled police recruitment and will need to start reducing police staff numbers significantly and immediately. This is no longer about balancing financial spreadsheets; this is about the imminent withdrawal of core services to the communities of Lincolnshire which will be clearly seen and felt by our residents. We will go from being the least funded force in the country to being an extreme outlier at a time when there is the need to improve our services. "We will always be committed to serving the public and keeping our county safe, but these levels of reductions will inevitably cause a deterioration in service. "The PCC and I will continue to pursue a fair settlement for Lincolnshire, but at present the only options available are large reductions of essential and committed officers and staff.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones said: "The financial challenge facing Lincolnshire Police in this and coming years are unprecedented.

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"For many years our county force has been structurally underfunded – and while the gaps have been plugged with effective financial management and reserves that is no longer enough. The gap is simply too great.

"As a consequence the Chief Constable is facing incredibly tough choices about where services may have to be cut back or stopped entirely and how and where to deploy the reduced number of officers and staff.

"It is important the public understand the reality and the size and scope of the issues facing their police. Savings amounting to £14m this year alone rising to £20m in coming years must be found and that makes it impossible for the force to continue in its current form. "I continue to try everything from lobbying to legal action to get this issue resolved with Government. I will never give up, our communities deserve that from me and we all deserve better from Westminster.

"However, budgets cannot be set on a wing and prayer so until the Government listens we have to create a service from the funding available. I have trust and confidence in the Chief Constable to do all that he can to keep our communities safe with the funding available."

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