South Holland police number rise revealed as ex cop from Spalding says you are more likely to see a pizza delivery man than an officer
New figures show police numbers are slightly up in our area - but two retired officers have raised fears we still do not have enough manpower.
A Freedom of Information request by this newspaper has found there are 77 police officers based in South Holland.
While that is up from 66 last year - and does not include officers based outside the area who could be called upon in our district - it once again demonstrates that we have one of the smallest forces in the country.
Retired officer Nick Carter, who lives in Spalding, said: “If you are in trouble, you will get a Domino’s delivery person easier than a policeman. It makes me boiling mad, it really does.”
National figures show Lincolnshire has the lowest number of officers per head in the country - and the numbers for South Holland suggest we can call on even less than the county average.
Commissioner vows to carry on recruiting
The county’s police leader says he is ‘delighted’ to get more recruits for our area - but ex officers say the service is still not good enough.
New figures revealed today by the Spalding Guardian show that there are 77 police officers based in South Holland - up from 66 last year.
Bosses stress that those officers are supplemented with others based outside the district - but fears persist that our force needs more manpower.
Each of the four police districts in Lincolnshire has seen a rise in officers in the past year - but national figures still put us joint worst for the number of officers per head.
This year, the police’s portion of the council tax bill went up 3.75%.
Lincolnshire police and crime commissioner Marc Jones said: “I am proud and delighted that I have been able to finance the recruitment of more officers than we have seen in decades. This would not have been possible without the support of the tax payers of Lincolnshire, the backing of the current government through the officer uplift programme and careful financial planning.
“The number of 77 police officers does not tell the whole story. Those officers dedicated to South Holland are supported by numerous dedicated specialist police teams such as the roads policing team, major crime, rural action team, fraud, armed officers and many others.
“The recruitment of more officers will continue over the next 12 months and in addition to the developments we are pioneering in new technology and better equipment I believe the force are well placed to continue its work to keep our communities safe.
“Lincolnshire, though, does continue to be one of the lowest funded forces in the UK and, while I will continue to lobby for fairer funding, we will carry on the work to ensure every penny is invested wisely and in pursuit of efficiency and effectiveness.”
There are 206 officers based in the whole Boston and South Holland police district - that’s up from 149 last year and higher than at any time since 2014, when the current dataset begins.
Former officers, however, say we do not have the resources needed for a visible police force.
Nick Carter, who lives in Spalding having retired from the force in Surrey in 2002, said he finds it ‘heart wrenching’ to talk to people still working for the police.
He said: “We don’t have a functioning police force any more, we just don’t, and they won’t admit it.”
He added: “There’s no service at all now, it’s disappeared. When you do contact them they don’t want to help you.”
The last available House of Commons Library figures show Lincolnshire has 149 officers per 100,000 people. That’s bottom for England and Wales and compares to 191 in Norfolk and 189 in Cambridgeshire.
Top is the Metropolitan Police with 377 per 100,000.
Mr Carter added: “The last bastion of the police force is the Met because they don’t have a choice there, there has to be a police presence. If you come to rural areas like ours you have got no chance.
“They don’t have the resources.”
He added: “I feel grossly sorry for the guys who are in the last stages of their service who have seen what it used to be like. It upsets me because I know what it could be, what it was like and what it should be like.”
Weston Parish Council chairman Chris Dicks also used to work in the police, in Essex, and finds the situation with resources ‘frustrating’.
The parish council has bemoaned the fact that police no longer attend their meetings and feel it has diminished the relationship with the community.
He said: “I do have a great deal of sympathy with them. They have got one of the largest areas and one of the smallest forces.
“Unless they were to increase the numbers by over 100,000 we are not going to see a difference - let alone in poor old Lincolnshire. It really is the most undermanned police force.”
He was concerned that the numbers on duty at any one time would be low in our area, adding: “The number might be 77 but you are lucky if you have got a third of that on duty, especially once you take out sickness, vacation and people on courses.”
- See Tuesday's Lincolnshire Free Press for the Police response.
