Lincolnshire police has been told it needs to improve the way it investigates crimes.
The force has been rated as “good” in a report by the police inspectorate, but concerns have been raised about its ability to investigate crime, saying it is being hampered by the way it manages investigations.
The new report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary said there are delays in the process and inconsistencies in practices which means that its ability to bring offenders to justice may be limited.
However, the report does highlight that crime has fallen in the county at a faster rate than across England and Wales over the last four years and that Lincolnshire Police has strong links with its communities and works well with them and partner agencies to understand local priorities and concerns and provide a joined up response to victims.
Its work on tackling domestic abuse was also highlighted, as was its recently established, dedicated multi-agency hub for combating child sexual exploitation and finding missing children, saying it demonstrates that the force has an understanding of and responsiveness to emerging crime types.
In her report, HMIC inspector Zoe Billingham said: “The available evidence indicates that, in terms of its effectiveness, the force is good at reducing crime and preventing offending and is good at tackling anti-social behaviour.
“However, it requires improvement in the way it investigates offending.”
The report has been welcomed by Neil Rhodes, chief constable of Lincolnshire Police and the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Hardwick.
Mr Rhodes said: “In terms of our effectiveness to prevent offending, reduce crime and tackle anti social behaviour, we have continued to see crime reductions over recent years which have been greater the rest of the country.
“There are areas for improvement in terms of the supervision of crime investigation and in the timeliness of allocation that we are working hard already to address.”
Mr Hardwick added: “The report supports my view that we have much to be proud of within Lincolnshire Police.
“But our commitment to continuous improvement, despite our financial challenges, means we can always do better.
“I will continue to hold the chief constable to account for those areas where improvements are required. I know he and everyone at Lincolnshire Police is committed to achieving them.”
Fairer deal on funding
Lincolnshire Chief Constable has warned that the Government needs to take urgent action over police funding if people are not to be put at risk.
He said the county has the lowest levels of funding in the country and any further cuts would mean Lincolnshire Police is unable to maintain its current service beyond 2016.
He said: “I am proud of how we continue to innovate and make the best of the money we have.
“The police and crime commissioner and I are committed to working with the Home Secretary to develop an approach to funding that will give a fairer deal to Lincolnshire.”
The force has reduced its budget by £20million in the past four years, but Mr Rhodes said options to achieve further savings are “extremely limited”.
