PCC 'fearful for future of policing' in frontline plans from Government

HOME SECRETARY CLAIMS CHANGES WILL RESTORE NEIGHBOURHOOD PATROLS

- BY JAMIE WALLER Local Democracy Reporter

LINCOLNSHIRE'S police commissioner says that proposed reforms will be useless without extra money to go with them.

The government says it will cut red tape and set stricter national targets for response in a bid to "restore neighbourhood policing".

Officers will be expected to reach the scene of the most serious crimes within 15 minutes in urban areas, or 20 minutes in the countryside.

The government has also pledged to reduce the paperwork for lesser incidents, allowing support officers to be placed back on the frontline.

However Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones, an Independent, has said he's sceptical of the promised changes.

"Any reduction in red tape that allows officers to spend less time doing paperwork rather than police our streets is to be welcomed," he said.