Lib Dems call for proper community policing

Police in Lincolnshire are taking an average of 9 hours and 50 minutes to respond to burglary calls, damning new figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

This is a dramatic 51% increase on response times compared to figures from 2021/22, where it took an average 6 hours 31 minutes to respond to burglaries.

In 2020/21 average burglary response times were 4 hours 31 minutes – meaning the last three years have seen an 117% increase on response times.

Lincolnshire’s Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservative Government for these figures, arguing that years of ineffective resourcing have left local police forces overstretched, under-resourced and unable to effectively respond to local crime.

This includes taking more than 4,500 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) off the streets since 2015.

The Lib Dems are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and able to focus on responding to neighbourhood crime like burglaries.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat candidate for Police & Crime Commissioner for Lincolnshire, Lesley Rollings, said: 

“Having your home burgled is a traumatic experience, and victims deserve a swift response from the police. Yet thanks to the Conservative Government, this is increasingly out of reach.

“People in Lincolnshire deserve to feel safe in their own homes. The fact that traumatised burglary victims are being left waiting for hours, wondering if the police will even arrive, is unacceptable. To think that crucial evidence may be lost in the process too is unforgivable.

“It’s time to finally restore proper community policing, so people can be confident that if they do fall victim to crime, the police will turn up and investigate properly.”