Agenda item

A presentation by Lincolnshire Police

Inspector Colin Clarkson of Lincolnshire Police addressed the meeting and advised members he had been in his current role for just over a year, prior to which he held the position of Detective Inspector for Boston.  A detailed presentation followed which included the following points of information:

Referencing the situation in the county, members were advised that Lincolnshire was one of the lowest funded police forces in U.K at just 45p per person per day as against the national average of 59p per person per day.  Most of the teams in operation were small in number and the previous year had proved to be very challenging not least with the loss of a large number of PCSO’s. (Police Community Support Officers).

Addressing the team in Boston, Inspector Clarkson advised it comprised of PCSO’s, Police Officers, Sergeants and an Inspector, and the team had lost two PCSO’s due to the re-modelling.

Two serious crimes had taken place in the previous year.  The first having been Operation Jadeite which was serious disorder and included three incidents of people being attacked and resulted in nineteen juveniles and one adult being identified within three days by a single PCSO.  The outcomes of the incident led to ten people being arrested and interviewed and ten interviewed under caution. The key players were identified very quickly. The case was ongoing and under review by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service).

The second serious incident was Operation Burnt, the unlawful encampment which received 59 calls for service for 21 crimes, with two people being arrested following 13 viable statements by the public. A number of witnesses had unfortunately refused to give statements of evidence and the case was ongoing and under review by the CPS.

Incidents of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) linked to street drinking had reduced by 50% over the previous year, with enforcement by the PSCO’s doubling, with 44 referrals in the previous six months, as against 22 in the whole of the previous year.  Plans were also in place to continue working with Trading Standards to implement closure orders on shops.

Operation Plotting which had been presented previously to the committee, was an analytical package which looked at serious crime in Boston Town Centre. It had been re-visited and the criteria had been expanded to allow coverage of the whole of the Borough of Boston.  Public opinion of Boston included concerns that it was dangerous and people did not feel safe and were worried about going out at night and in the daytime, with issues of concern about groups loitering and concerns for children being out and about.

Inspector Clarkson acknowledged the perception of fear was very real to the residents of Boston and he was not being dismissive of that perception, it was however unfounded when considering comparative data with other areas in the county.  The highest category of crime in Boston was violence against the person at 43% of the total crime:  there was no breakdown of the category but most was without injury with only a small percent being violence with injury.

Members were advised that when accessing the Police.Gov.UK website, it was possible to enter a postcode which would provide the crime statistics for that area.

Following the review four hot spot areas had been identified as having the highest crimes rates, West Street, Market Place, Wormgate / Red lion Street and Central Park, based on two and a half years data.  On reviewing the statistics from November 2022 to May 2023 three of the four hot spots remained the same which corroborated the initial findings.  Closure of Central Park in the winter months was attributed to the reduction in that hot spot.   The team would concentrate their resources on the four hot spot areas, with additional data collected providing

The feedback to a recent community engagement survey which had been deployed in eight languages and carried out over a six week period, had provided the Police with a greater understanding in respect of the publics’ perception of crime and of what the community thought overall about policing in Boston.  There had been a good response to the survey with 1029 responses equating to 1 in 69 of the residents.

Finally Inspector Clarkson advised on the success of joint Lincolnshire Police and Boston Borough Council bids which included £100k for additional CCTV within hotspot locations; £28k for interactive display boards and funding for both a community worker and two community wardens.

The Chairman thanked Inspector Clarkson for his presentation and committee members for their submission of questions in advance of the meeting ensuring detailed responses were provided.

General committee deliberation followed which is collated and included:

Members noted their appreciation of the in-depth level of detail provided within the presentation, agreeing it addressed many of the concerns raised within the initial questions tabled.

Referencing the perception of crime within the town by residents for a number of reasons, members stressed it was very real for many and recognised the need for a narrative to address the underlying reasons. Inspector Clarkson advised that the perception of crime also extended to specific incidents including those of speeding, whereby vehicles were not moving at the speed perceived.  The forthcoming consultation would help to identify the reasons for the perception of crime enabling the Police to actively move forward in dispelling the fears.

On questioning whether the perception of crime could be routed in the reality of the situation that the Police were forced to scale back their responses to certain crimes, to enable others to be scaled up, a member was advised that whilst all crime reported was reviewed, there were not sufficient resources to attend every incident and the Police had to focus on key crimes.

Members realised the need of the Inspector to deploy resources in a smart manner to key areas and agreed the need for smaller incidents including cycling and shop lifting, to be evidenced based when initially reported, to support any investigation.

Referencing the intention of the Police to focus on the Hot Spots identified, members overwhelming agreed the work, acknowledging that all of the areas had been trouble spots for a long time with known crime taking place at all the sites.  On being asked how BTAC could practically help the Police, Inspector Clarkson advised that capable guardianship was an area by which the public could supported the police, who could not be relied on all the time. It had been proven that the impact of having outreach workers presence within a community was beneficial to the community for a number of reasons.  

Members further voiced support at the funding received which they agreed would assist the residents and they further recognised the reduction in police officers over the last thirty years balanced against the huge increase in population within the borough.  

Noting the issues experienced in reporting crime, Inspector Clarkson was asked if a QR Code could be produced to enable direct reporting of a crime as it took place, supported by photographic evidence.  Concerns were further noted at the response time to telephone calls to report incidents, in particular to the 101 service.  Inspector Clarkson advised that Lincolnshire Police telephone response times were in the top five in the U.K and that he would look at the cost of reporting on line.

In conclusion members voiced their support of the Police and recognised the strength of the partnership working with Boston Borough Council.