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Contrary to what its name may suggest, the Lincolnshire constabulary does not cover the North and North east Lincolnshire areas. These fall under the police authority in Humberside. In terms of the area it has to police, the Lincolnshire constabulary is in fact one of the largest in the UK; it is spread over slightly more than 2.2 thousand square miles. Fortunately, Lincolnshire is a non metropolitan area and the population is far less dense than that of other areas. There is a total of 646,000 residents that fall into the Lincolnshire constabulary area.
History of The Lincolnshire Constabulary
The Lincolnshire police force was established in 1856 as part of the County and Borough Police Act 1856. As with many other police forces in the UK, the Lincolnshire constabulary was never as large as it is today. Many other police forces have been amalgamated in order to form what it known today as the Lincolnshire constabulary.
The many forces were all joined in 1964 to form one large police constabulary.
Ten years after this, in 1974, the Lincolnshire constabulary lost some of its area to Humberside police. In 1965 the police force was made up of 918 officers.
In 2006, there were plans by the Home office to merge four of the East Midlands’ police forces. These plans were dropped by John Reid in the same year. As a consequence of these plans, the Home office paid £287,000 to the Lincolnshire constabulary.
2008 saw a funding crisis for the Lincolnshire constabulary in which there were claims that their budget was insufficient for them to be able to police their area effectively. It was argued that the way the government assesses budgetary requirements was unfavourable towards the constabulary. To solve this problem, 79% more of the council tax income was channelled into the police force. Unfortunately, this increase was capped by the government, resulting in an increase of just 26%.
The Modern Lincolnshire Constabulary
There are now over 1,200 officers serving in the Lincolnshire constabulary which has a budget of £108.6 million to keep the residents of its local communities safe. Its headquarters are located in Nettleham, Lincoln, and there are eleven police stations.
The service that can be expected from a police force differs by area; all police forces have different agendas and these depend mainly on the area itself. In order to keep check of these agenda items, many police forces have signed up to the policing pledge, a government initiative which outlines the service that the public can expect from their local police force. Lincolnshire constabulary has signed up to this.
The Lincolnshire constabulary has outlined ten commitments for the future and these concern how it is going to approach policing. The first point is to always treat members of its communities with dignity and respect. In this way the force aims to provide its services fairly and in a way which is suitable for everyone.
There is also a huge emphasis on community policing. The Lincolnshire constabulary intends on providing everyone with the information they need to be able to access their services. This includes raising awareness on local community issues and ensuring that all members of each community know exactly how to contact their local police officers.
There is currently an initiative being run by the Lincolnshire police concerning the use of knives. It is called Game Over 4 Knives and aims to educate younger people so that they are not tempted by a life of dangerous crime.
A recurring theme amongst police forces in the UK is the idea of community policing. Lincolnshire police is no different and they have established a neighbourhood panel in their local areas. The aim of this is to promote a stronger link between members of the community and the police force, as well as to speed up communication. These panels discuss a number of community issues and are responsible for establishing the police priorities for each individual area. Outside of meetings, the panel members work with other members of the community in order to promote a greater understanding and level of safety. By having such a relationship with the local constabulary, residents are able to feel more assured and help improve their own quality of life through tackling crime and community bonding.
Each local community has its own policing team as part of the government's plans for a more visible and assuring police presence. Every one of these teams is lead by a beat manager. These are experienced police officers who have an understanding of the community they are charged with. All teams have a Police Community Support Officer, a special officer and a Local Authority Neighbourhood Warden; these teams are set to expand in size.
To be proactive and take the lead in the fight against crime, it is important that crime is prevented before it takes place. In this way, nobody has to become a victim of crime, thus improving quality of life and trust in the police force. The Lincolnshire constabulary supports the community in the fight against crime by supplying the public with information on crime prevention. This gets the community involved and ensures that the public look out for the safety of both themselves and others living around them.
The twelve month period ending December 2009 saw a decrease in crime of 3.4% in the area policed by the Lincolnshire constabulary. Another testament to the success of their information campaigns is the huge fall in the number of burglaries that took place over this same period; these were down by 19.5%, a huge fall.
The Lincolnshire constabulary has, so far, been successful in protecting the residents of the southern parts of Lincolnshire. With its attention to detail and community policing, this looks set to continue. In the future, the Lincolnshire police force will work more closely with the local community to address the issues that are affecting members of each local community. The information and awareness campaigns will also help crime prevention and residents can look forward to an improved quality of life.
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