Gareth Davies MP: I welcome additional cash for Lincolnshire police officers
This week our country fell victim to another serious terrorist attack in London, writes Stamford, Bourne and Grantham MP Gareth Davies.
This horrific incident by a known, recently released terrorist was yet another reminder to us all that there are those in our society who seek to divide, frighten and threaten us.
I am pleased that the government have moved quickly towards introducing emergency legislation to ensure an end to terrorist offenders getting released automatically.
Today (Monday, February 10), I intend to press the Home Secretary myself in the House of Commons, on the importance of making sure that our police are equipped throughout the country to tackle terrorism.
Here in Lincolnshire, while we have not had to face a direct threat from terrorism, we do face issues with crime in our towns, villages and farms.
We are fortunate to have a relatively low level of crime, but of course any crime is one too many and can have a serious impact on people’s lives.
Recently I was pleased to meet with Chief Constable Skelly to discuss crime in our area and the measures the Government is taking to support Lincolnshire Police.
Last week I met with Kit Malthouse, the Minister of State for Crime and Police in Westminster and was encouraged to hear that as part of the extra £1.1 billion in police funding across the country, we will be receiving an additional £8.6m to tackle crime and keep our streets safe here in Lincolnshire.
This represents an +8.1 per cent increase from last year and is on top of the 50 extra police officers already announced recently for Lincolnshire Police, with more to come in the future.
However, we must never be complacent and so continue to push for fairer funding for our county, especially ensuring that our police have the equipment they need to tackle the wide diversity of crimes from town antisocial behaviour to rural village thefts.
I have been very impressed with some of the technology our local police now have available such as mobile digital fingerprint devices for quickly identifying suspects, and drone technology to help search large open spaces.
I know I speak for the whole community when I say how grateful we are to our police officers for the work they do to keep us safe, they will always have my full support and thanks.
