Quarterly update May 2023
A/Insp 1367 Ian Cotton
We now move well into 2023 and we have again reviewed the priorities for Neighbourhood Policing Team on Wolds for the last quarter and set new priorities for the next three months.
In the previous newsletter I reported on the Priority Based Budgeting that Lincolnshire Police were conducting and the reduction of PCSO’s across the county from 91 to 50. This process is ongoing but has moved forward significantly and we now know what the decisions taken will mean in respect of numbers of PCSO’s in the Wolds area. Decisions were made to keep PCSO resources in the 19 most vulnerable policing beats according to the Vulnerable Localities Index. This measure considers many variables including crime rates and social deprivation. 2 PCSO’s will be assigned to each of the 19 most vulnerable beats in the county by this measure. The remaining 12 PCSO’s will be based at the four major policing hubs in the county, Lincoln, Grantham, Boston and Skegness (3 each).
In the Wolds only Louth Town features within the 19 most vulnerable beats. Effectively this means that 2 PCSO’s will be assigned to Louth Town and no other beats in the Wolds will have PCSO’s, a reduction from 10 PCSO’s to only 2.
When this process began this scale of reduction was not considered in my ‘worst case scenario’ so it’s been a shock to all the staff on the Wolds Neighbourhood Policing Team. We now move forward with conversations around what our service will look like considering these reductions. We will still have dedicated Beat Sergeants and Constables covering the area.
We will support our staff and I know the organisation are looking to absolutely minimise the number of compulsory redundancies that need to be made. Despite the above, staff have been excellent in their professionalism and desire to continue to work hard for the community. We have seen some excellent work from our officers.
Previously we have had the following as our priorities….
Priority: Tackling anti-social behaviour in Louth Town and surrounding rural areas (North Wolds)
PCSO Drake has led work around hot-spot locations in the town and the surrounding villages. A patrol plan has been developed to provide visibility in these areas. We have worked with our local partners in Housing Associations, Council CCTV and School Establishments to identify ASB perpetrators and deal with them quickly and effectively to prevent issues from escalating. As a result we have seen the number of reported ASB incidents reduce in the area.Priority: Drug activity in Louth (North Wolds)
PC Holly Lloyd has led work around tackling drugs activity in Louth. We have identified individuals who are offending due to their drug use and have vulnerabilities and referred then to an integrated offender management programme. Those individuals are carefully managed and work with partner agencies such as ‘We are With You’ to reduce offending and harm in the local area. PC Lloyd has arranged engagements at a local secondary school to educate young people. She has also worked with Lincolnshire Police Licensing Department to examine drug use in licensed premises and will continue to work with local licensed establishments to reduce drug use in the night-time economy.Priority: Scam prevention work (North and South Wolds)
PCSO Luke Jacklin (Louth) and PCSO Lora Blackett (Horncastle) have been leading work around raising awareness of scams in our local community following an increase in reports of victims being convinced to part with money on a fraudulent basis. PCSO Jacklin and PCSO Blackett led engagements and awareness events. Members of the team visit victims in order to safeguard them. They have also worked closely with local banks to identify potential victims and safeguard them. The work continues in this area.Priority: ‘Fatal 4’ (Roads Policing – South Wolds)
PCSO Jad Mohammed has led work on speeding, seatbelt use, driving whilst distracted and drink driving). Surveys have been commissioned on roads in the area which gives an indication as to the extent of the speeding issue. Local patrol and static enforcement have been used in areas of the South Wolds. The new Roads Policing Unit, based at Louth have been proactively targeting offending vehicles.Priority: Tackling anti-social behaviour in South Wolds (South Wolds)
The South Wolds Policing Team have sought to tackle first reports of ASB in their areas before the matter becomes a more serious issue. They have issued 22 Unacceptable Behaviour warnings and spoken with numerous ASB perpetrators to discourage and divert the behaviour. We usually see reports of ASB rise in the summer months and the team is committed to continue their work in this area over the summer period.
Having liaised with the NPT Teams, our community and public figures to ascertain current crime trends and areas of concern we have set the following priorities for the next quarter. They are the same for both North and South Wolds:
ASB - Focussing on youth ASB issues in the community across the area (North/South Wolds)
Fraud and Scams – The modus operandi can vary but some have been the impersonation of a police officer asking victims to withdraw money from their bank account. These are particularly distressing offences as the victims are often vulnerable. We will work to raise awareness and prevent these offences from taking place. We will look to target rogue traders with our partner agencies. (North/South Wolds)