Lincolnshire Chief Constable 'cautiously optimistic' about police funding
Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced that policing will receive a funding boost of up to £1.1 billion next year.
Last updated 17th Dec 2021
__ The Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police says he's 'cautiously optimistic' after the Home Secretary announced an extra £1.1bn worth of funding towards policing next year,
That's a 7% increase on last year - and means forces across the UK will get around £17bn in 2022 and 2023.
The force is yet to work through exactly what it means for Lincolnshire, but Chief Constable Chris Haward said: "It’s good news that policing will receive a cash boost because it should provide some certainty for the future and means we should be able to continue to invest in priority areas in Lincolnshire to ensure the county is the safest place to live, work and visit.
"We are working through the exact details of what the announcement will mean for us here in Lincolnshire but remain cautiously optimistic.
“This should enable us to further focus on areas that really impact on our communities, including violence against women and girls, drugs gangs and issues, serious violent crime, and neighbourhood crime.
“Historically Lincolnshire hasn’t been given a particularly fair deal when it comes to being allocated funding from the central government funding package but our officers and staff have continued to do an exceptional job in keeping our communities safe, even when faced with the unprecedented demand we’ve seen recently.
"I know that we’ll continue to police to that high standard and I, along with the PCC and Chief Officer colleagues, will continue to petition government to ensure our allocation of the funding formula allows our officers and staff the means to provide policing to Lincolnshire that keeps people safe and protects them from harm.”