Lincolnshire Police chiefs have responded to a report which claimed trust in police forces was “hanging by a thread”.
The report by Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke, has sent ripples across the UK’s police forces and paints a concerning picture of public trust towards the police.
It highlights issues such as police forces struggling to keep up with rising public demand, difficulties in vetting new recruits, and the inexperience of the workforce due to the loss of many established officers in recent years.
Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones acknowledged the issues raised by the Inspector, saying: “There is no doubt that trust in policing nationally has been eroded over a number of years and, of course, the public always has – rightly – very high expectations of the service they receive.”
However, he said: “While I don’t believe Lincolnshire Police is immune from these issues, I don’t think they present the crisis in this county that other areas may be facing.”
Jones highlighted several measures that have been put in place for public reassurance, including independent scrutiny bodies to examine crime recording and the force’s handling of violence against women and girls.
He also mentioned investment in the force’s call centre, and a new command and control system to improve response times and officer deployment.
Lincolnshire Police DCC Julia Debenham said that negative headlines about individuals in policing could damage the reputation of the entire force.
“We are doing all we can to ensure that anyone who doesn’t demonstrate the values and behaviours our public expect of us does not have a place in policing,” she said. “We believe that this, along with our commitment to our communities and consistently being there for people when they need us, and telling the public about that, will slowly build back any trust and confidence the public may have lost in policing.”
She mentioned a survey launched in March to understand the views of local communities and measure their trust in the police
DCC Debenham also pointed to the underfunding of Lincolnshire Police, but pointed out it is still ranked as the 13th safest place in the country.
“It is no secret that Lincolnshire Police is underfunded, and ranks 42nd of 43 forces in net revenue expenditure per population, but we are still ranked as the 13th safest place in the country, with 15 per cent less crime per 1,000 of population,” DCC Debenham said.
