'Widespread concern' at police force performance

3 hours ago

Stuart HarrattEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

News image — Lincolnshire Police is the only one in the country to be given the Level Three performance grade

BBC The door of a Lincolnshire Police car with blue and yellow blocks and the force's badge on the side — Lincolnshire Police is the only one in the country to be given the Level Three performance grade

Lincolnshire Police will receive support to improve after being given the lowest performance grade in the country by the police watchdog.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue (HMICFRS) said the force was given the Level Three rating after it found "widespread or systemic performance concerns".

The inspectorate said there were problems with emergency call response times, victim support, the effectiveness of inquiries where children are at risk or have been sexually exploited and the number of trained child abuse officers.

Chief Constable Paul Gibson said: "I fully accept that we need to modernise and improve as an organisation, which we're working hard to do."

Gibson added: "This organisation has been chronically underfunded for three decades or more.

"So the position that we're in is a different starting position to some other forces."

The chief constable said that a recently announced increase in government funding of £36m over the next three years "allows us to reset".

Zara Healy/BBC Chief Constable Paul Gibson seated at a desk. He is wearing police uniform and smiling at the camera, There is a large window in the background. — Lincolnshire Chief Constable Paul Gibson said he was "confident" the force could improve

Gibson added that a new improvement programme, named Lincs 2030, would see more than 250 new officers and 250 extra staff recruited over the next two years as well as investment in new technology, such as the ability to interview victims remotely.

"What I would say to the public is that we are confident, we're ambitious, we can deliver on this," Gibson said.

"We will need to take some time, but we will start to see some difference very quickly."

Every police force in England and Wales has been rated under the HMICFRS Policing Performance System with grades ranking from Level One to Level Four, which is known as special measures.

No force in England or Wales has been given a Level Four at this stage.

His Majesty's inspector of constabulary, Roy Wilsher said: "The Policing Performance System is designed to strengthen how performance is assessed and provide earlier support when improvements are needed."

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