Latest news with #PaulGibson
BBC News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Lincolnshire Police chief renews warning over budget shortfall
Lincolnshire's police chief says he remains hopeful his force can avoid huge cuts as he prepares for a meeting with the Constable Paul Gibson told Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday that he would use his upcoming meeting with Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson to address a £65m shortfall over the next three raised the prospect that teams dealing with sex offences and child abuse could be at risk from the budget Home Office said Lincolnshire Police would receive £174.5m in the current financial year – an increase of 6.2% on last year. Mr Gibson, who has previously said that 400 jobs could be cut without extra money, said Lincolnshire had been the "least funded force for the last 15 to 20 years" due to factors such as losing the rural policing grant."We've been existing on one-off funding from the government year-by-year and, of course, that's not the best way to build strategy and run a police service," he said."We have a £65m shortfall over the next three years and what I'm looking to work with the government is an achievable, sustainable solution."There is a limit on how much you can improve when you may potentially need to cut 25% of your staff, so that's why I'm hoping we can work with the government to find a sustainable solution to this." Mr Gibson said he started talks with the Home Office earlier this year in a bid to ensure community policing was not cut."I'm hoping we never get to the position where neighbourhood policing has to go, as it is the bedrock of building confidence with communities and engaging with them," he said."And, of course, if we end up having to cut our specialist teams dealing with sexual offending and child abuse, it would be a difficult issue for us, so that is why we're working so hard to find a solution that is sustainable for Lincolnshire."He added that it was a "good force that can deliver", but it needed more funding. "I know this will be concerning for our communities, but I do know that if we were funded equal to many of the other forces across the country, I'm absolutely confident that the improvements that need to be made can be made," he said.A Home Office spokesperson said: "We will continue working with the police to ensure they have the resources they need to restore visible neighbourhood policing to our communities, and tackle the crimes that make people feel unsafe."The BBC has contacted Dame Diana for to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Times
First force to face bankruptcy may have to cut ‘bedrock of policing'
The chief of the first police force to face bankruptcy says that without further funding he could be forced to scrap its neighbourhood policing team. External auditors found Lincolnshire police at risk of having to issue a section 114 notice, declaring itself effectively bankrupt, if it does not receive a significant injection of extra cash. In recent years several councils that have been unable to balance their books have issued section 114 notices. No police force has yet done so. Paul Gibson, the chief constable, said the situation was 'stark'. 'That is not a position we want to be in. The organisation doesn't deserve that. This is eminently resolvable,' he said. The Lincolnshire force already receives the country's lowest funding per resident. Gibson, who joined the force in 1998 and became chief constable in April last year, said that 15 to 20 years of underfunding was having a detrimental effect on the force's ability to keep the public safe.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Ex-Lincolnshire PC shared bodycam footage of him tasering man
A former Lincolnshire Police officer who shared bodycam footage of him tasering a suspect during an arrest has been found guilty of gross Packer, who was based in Skegness, sent the footage to a friend, bragging the man had "gone down like a sack of potatoes".He also sent "incredibly offensive" racist messages, used discriminatory language on Snapchat and kept confidential police information on his mobile phone, a misconduct hearing was told.A panel earlier ruled Packer would have been dismissed from the force for gross misconduct if he had not already resigned in March 2024. The hearing at the Nettleham police headquarters, near Lincoln, heard the former officer had tasered a suspect who became aggressive while attending a domestic assault in October uploaded the footage to the police computer system but later accessed and filmed it, before sharing the that month, Packer also shared details about another three people who had been arrested to a friend, including names and a vehicle linked to former officer's actions were deemed to be gross misconduct, breaking the standards for respect and courtesy, orders and instructions, confidentiality, equality and diversity, and discreditable giving his ruling, Chief Constable Paul Gibson described the officer's behaviour as "blatant and premeditated", and said it "undermined confidence" in the who did not attend the hearing, had shown "no remorse", he added. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Lincolnshire Police chief constable Paul Gibson warns of job cuts
The chief constable of Lincolnshire Police has warned 400 staff and officer jobs could be cut if the force cannot secure extra funding by 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 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 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 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 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 April, Lincolnshire Police announced previous planned cuts to 400 jobs had been delayed due to a new £5.7m government funding speaking on BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Mr Gibson said this was "one-off money" to provide "stability" for six months. 'Working hard' 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 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 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 said tools and equipment had been stolen, but she had received a letter from police a week later to say the case had been 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 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. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
'Serious concern' over Lincolnshire Police crime investigations
Lincolnshire Police has been rated inadequate at investigating crime, responding to the public and managing offenders and Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue said it had "serious concerns" and the leadership and management of the force was inadequate.A report said the force was too slow to respond to calls and "failing to support victims" and called for urgent improvements. Chief Constable Paul Gibson said he accepted the report's findings, but said the force was "starting to see some real improvements". Some of the report's findings were released in December last year, and the force was moved into an enhanced level of full report, published on Wednesday, gave more detail and said the way the force investigates crime was of "serious concern" and must be "urgently improved".Although it does "a good job" of investigating the most serious crimes, "the force isn't allocating investigations to appropriately trained officers and staff who have the right skills and experience", according to the report. Inspectors found officers only met incident response targets in 52.6% of cases, which meant the force was "missing opportunities to safeguard the public and reduce crime".They said in the year ending March 2024, black people were nearly five times more likely to be stopped and searched or subjected to force than white people. The report said there were "gaps" in the records to explain finances, the report said Lincolnshire Police's savings plan did not address several areas of inefficiency. It added "these inefficiencies are increasing its operating costs and worsening its budget deficit". Overall, the report said it could not "underestimate how much improvement is needed", but it acknowledged there had been some improvements including increased staffing in the control Gibson told BBC Radio Lincolnshire he understood "why the public would be worried"."What I would say is, in terms of response, we've taken a laser focus to this," he said."We are now responding quicker, allocating people quicker. We are assessing victims needs in over 90% of the cases. "So those figures that you will see in that report are starting to change. "This will take a bit of time but I'm happy with the progress." Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
