Police chief pledges to protect front-line services
POLICE chiefs say they are well placed to protect front-line services in the area ahead of expected budget cuts.
Forces across the country are preparing for a drop in funding from the Government as it tackles the national deficit.
Linconlnshire's assistant chief constable Peter Davies, who visited Stamford on Friday, said front-line policing would be the "last thing to go".
Two years ago Lincolnshire Police Authority said it had a 6m deficit and tried – but failed – to raise its share of the council tax bill by 79 per cent.
Mr Davies said the force's previous problems of policing on a tight budget would help.
He said: "We have always had to manage a service with a less resources than other forces but actually I think that is a positive in an environment like this as we know how to police effectively, we know how to reduce costs without reducing services."
He added: "We are determined that front-line policing and local policing that people value in Stamford and elsewhere will be the last thing to go and I believe that we have got a sensible careful approach to the financial difficulty we are going to have in the next few years.
"We are going to do everything we can to maintain the service we have now but to continue to improve it as well.
"We don't know what the funding situation is going to do next year.
"We have got to do some careful planning and make sure we are ready."
The force with find out in October how much money it will receive and the police authority is already holding planning meetings.
Last week a study revealed that nationally 60,000 police officer and civilian jobs could be slashed by 2015.
Mr Davies was in Stamford town centre promoting the work of local officers.
Police say recent successes include a 20 per cent drop in burglaries in March, April and May compared to the same period last year and a 34 per cent drop in anti-social behaviour incidents.
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Weather for Stamford
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
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Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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