Extra police officers for Lincolnshire after £1.8m funding boost

The funding was won by the county’s police and crime commissioner, Marc Jones, after he successfully applied to the Home Office.

It will be used to support a number of new initiatives, including the recruitment of 30 officers in the autumn and a greater-than-anticipated number of police community support officers (PCSOs).

A delighted Mr Jones said: “The extra money will enable me to fund some vital frontline officers, as well some innovative projects that will cut offending, keep communities safer, reduce the number of victims and improve the effectiveness of the force.

“But we cannot rest on our laurels. There is no doubt that Lincolnshire still faces some long-term financial challenges, and costs

have risen too, leaving a significant gap between current spending and the available budget, which we continue to work on.

“I will be spending the coming months working hard to persuade those in Westminster that a new funding formula is necessary to ensure Lincolnshire gets its fair share of income in the years ahead.”

Other spending plans include boosting the digital forensics unit by two extra posts to help with complex investigations, and adding four posts to the team that works with prolific offenders to prevent them committing more crimes.

Further investments will be made to enhance the force’s ability to protect children and vulnerable adults.

The extra funding means the total budget available for policing and victims services has grown from £117 million in 2016/17 to £128 million this year, a 9.4 per cent increase.

Chief Constable Bill Skelly said: “The £1.8 million is above what we were expecting and allows us to strengthen officer numbers at a time when crimes are becoming more challenging.

“We will continue to fight for a fairer deal for Lincolnshire, which has been historically under-funded. We will do our utmost to keep the people of the county safe.”