Lincolnshire Police is currently in talks with the Home Office in the hope of solving the current financial problems that have left the constabulary with the lowest level of funding in the country.
In June, Lincolnshire Police Authority had its 79 per cent council tax demand capped to 26 per cent, leaving the force in uncertainty over future hiring and the Authority with a costly reissue of bills to residents, reports Police Professional.
Chief Constable Richard Compton and Police Authority Chairman Angela Crowe led a delegation to meet Policing Minister Tony McNulty and have described proceedings to date as very productive.
Speaking ahead of the first scheduled meeting with Home Office delegates, Angela Crowe told Police Professional that Mr McNulty advised them on who they should speak to further at the Home Office.
The minister has said these people will be there to help, she said. We are hoping that they will be convinced that what were talking about is totally reliable and trustful.
Lincolnshire is currently working on a standstill budget.
Weve avoided cuts this year but we know that they may well come, said Ms Crowe. We hope that by the end of September, with the assistance of the Home Office, we will have developed a business case that actually may be able to address some of the difficulties that we have.
Despite thousands of new officers being hired nationwide, Ms Crowe explained, Lincolnshire has no more than it did 10 years ago, relying instead on PCSOs. She is concerned over the forces effectiveness in some areas due to staff resources.
New Government demands might also create additional burden, she explained, including the Policing Pledge laid out in Jacqui Smiths Green paper, which promises residents frequent, visible patrols, quick responses all around, and regular neighborhood meetings.
We did point out to Mr McNulty that we will have difficulty, for example, with the policing pledge that is coming out very soon. As it stands at the moment it would be very difficult for Lincolnshire to comply with all the commitments made in the pledge because we dont have the resources to do some of the things. He said that has got to be fixed.
When asked if the Government seemed concerned that coalescing to Lincolnshires needs would set a precedent for Authorities bidding high on budgets to instigate negotiations, Ms Crowe explained that Lincolnshires case has been evidential and strong.
There are bits of our community that arent getting what they should be getting, she said. I think if every other force or authority which came after us had to go through the same hoops that we had to go through, then they would have to have a good case.
Ms Crowe and the representatives from Lincolnshire will meet with Mr McNulty again in October.
Were encouraged that Mr McNulty is prepared to be business-like and do things and were going to keep on working at this till its fixed, she said. This isnt a sticking plaster job were looking for, were actually looking to get Lincolnshire in a state where its not a news item anymore, but were actually just doing what we should be doing at the right level.
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