Police chief warns of 400 job cuts due to funding

The chief constable of Lincolnshire Police has warned 400 staff and officer jobs could be cut if the force cannot secure extra funding by October.

It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the government's Spending Review, which includes a 2.3% real terms yearly funding increase for policing in England and Wales.

Chief Constable Paul Gibson said this was not enough for Lincolnshire and would leave the force facing a deficit of almost £70m. He said he had begun negotiations with the Home Office.

But Reeves told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme she did not "accept" the need for cuts to police jobs.

Speaking during a hotseat with BBC Radio Lincolnshire presenter Frances Finn, Mr Gibson said the Home Office had recognised Lincolnshire as a "significant outlier" in terms of funding.

"If we don't get more money by October, then, unfortunately, I have to start consultation to reduce our organisation significantly," he said.

Mr Gibson said cuts to officer numbers could result in reductions to services that were "hugely important" to communities, including neighbourhood, roads and rural policing and crime prevention work.

He said: "I have to make sure that I balance the budget, and if I can't do that then I have to reduce resources, which obviously will be felt within the communities across our great county."

The chief constable said he had a meeting planned with Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson for early July, and he would be "pitching for more money".

"I'm as optimistic as I can be, but I can't guarantee money will come along," he said.

In April, Lincolnshire Police announced previous planned cuts to 400 jobs had been delayed due to a new £5.7m government funding package.

But speaking on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Mr Gibson said this was "one-off money" to provide "stability" for six months.

A report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue, released in May, rated Lincolnshire Police inadequate at investigating crime, responding to the public and managing offenders and suspects.

Mr Gibson said he appreciated the findings of the report would be "concerning" for residents, but he said funding had a "massive impact" on the level of service the force could give.

He said: "It's [the report] not as good as I wanted it to be, that's absolutely clear, and there's no doubt that there are things we need to do better. I completely accept that.

"We're working incredibly hard in the background to make sure we are investigating crimes better, supervising criminal investigations better, meeting the requirements of victims better."

Caller Chris Fairweather, from Old Leake, near Boston, told the chief constable she had not been visited by officers after reporting a garage break in at her home.

She said tools and equipment had been stolen, but she had received a letter from police a week later to say the case had been closed.

Mr Gibson said it was "just not possible" to visit the scene of every crime, and officers had to work out the likelihood of solving a crime.

He said: "Finance, whether we like it or not, has a major impact upon what you're able to do, in terms of the quality of service you can deliver."

Later in the discussion, Mr Gibson said: "I know that people are concerned about policing – they always want more, quite understandably.

"But I also need to make sure that I balance that with my staff, who are operating in difficult circumstances.

"They get assaulted quite frequently. I write to them, I speak to them, almost daily, in terms of someone who's been punched, kicked, spat at."

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

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