I am delighted that Lincolnshire Police will be able to recruit 50 new police officers next year, to help keep local communities and our streets safe.
The Government has invested £750 million to hire 20,000 extra police officers, with the first 6,000 in place by March 2021. This is in addition to a £20 million package to roll up county lines drugs gangs and a £25 million Safer Streets fund for new security measures for Britain’s worst crime spots. This £1 billion rise in police funding marks the biggest increase since 2010.
Since I was first elected I have pushing hard to ensure fairer funding for rural areas such as Lincolnshire. The current funding formula means Lincolnshire is the lowest funded police force in England and Wales per head of population, despite having to cover one of the largest areas - some 2,284 square miles.
This is a welcome step in the right direction but there is still more to do, and I will continue to push for Lincolnshire to receive the funding it deserves.
