Vital Lincolnshire police staff leaving as force approaches cliff edge
Warning that 400 staff could be cut if emergency funding isn't received by October
Lincolnshire Police says staff are looking for other jobs as uncertainty over the force’s future continues.
It has warned it may have to cut up to 200 staff and 200 police officer roles if emergency funding isn’t received by October.
Police Commissioner Marc Jones (Con) says the situation is “significantly damaging” the force, and urged the government to provide employees with certainty.
Conversations are continuing with the Home Office about filling the black hole, which Lincolnshire Police says is due to decades of underfunding.
“If you don’t know how long your livelihood will be around, I understand why you would be looking for other employment,” Mr Jones told the Police and Crime Panel.
“Our vacancy rate is growing, making it harder to meet service standards.
“We lost five people from the force control room in a week – they needed security, and found jobs elsewhere. These people are hugely important and very valued.
“Even if job cuts aren’t made, the attrition is doing significant damage to the organisation. We need certainty.”
The meeting was told that there was a “positive dialogue” with the government, despite the Policing Minister being changed in a recent reshuffle.
Mr Jones added that even if the force received emergency funding, it would take months to get officer numbers back up.
“We have already missed one round of recruitment – those officers should be coming out of training now but aren’t.
“We aren’t intentionally reducing police officer numbers, but they will be increasingly stretched.
“Numbers will go down before we come up, even with funding. It could be six months to a year before they increase again.”
There are around 950 deployable officers currently in Lincolnshire.
Lincolnshire County Council leader Sean Matthews (Ref) said local MPs and leaders were “all on the same page” in urging the government to provide more money.
“We had a very well-received meeting with the minister recently, making sure she was well aware of the problems in Lincolnshire – it’s just a shame she was gone within a week.”