Top officer’s force claims

One of the area’s top police officers has said some officers ‘haven’t got a clue’ in a candid account of policing in South Holland.

Superintendent Mark Housley, who oversees Lincolnshire Police’s East division encompassing South Holland, South Kesteven and Boston boroughs, later said he was trying to communicate how complex modern policing was while being questioned by South Holland District Council’s Performance Monitoring Panel.

He also criticised previous leadership but praised the new regime and outlined areas Lincolnshire Police has improved and is looking to get better in, particularly in relations with the community.

Spt Housley’s revelations at the meeting included:

• He felt Lincolnshire Police ‘turned its back’ on rural communities in the past.

• He expressed concerns over the lack of experience of many officers saying 60 per cent had less than four years’ service.

• Said the force should do more to get rid of officers who said unacceptable things about certain members of the community, joking ‘we never sack anyone’.

• Admitted that police needed to get better at updating the victims of crime.

• Said Lincolnshire Police was “not very good at listening to our local community”.

• Police are also trying to understand why the level of violent crime is higher than they think it should be a rural area like South Holland.

• Said: “We’ve become a reactive police force that a lot of us aren’t happy with, but you have to suck it up sometimes.”

Speaking in the meeting he said: ”I get some messages back from officers saying they can’t cope. I look at the demand numbers and I look at the crime numbers and I think I don’t understand why you can’t cope.

“I’ve got challenges around the professional ability of some of our officers, their competence and capability. Some are brilliant, some haven’t got a clue, some haven’t got a public service ethos.

“They’ve watched Police Interceptors and think that’s policing. That’s not what policing is about. We’re closer to being social carers than we are enforcers and we need to recognise that. But I think we’re on a new journey about changing the police force culture and those type of things have got to be in the past.”

Speaking after the meeting Spt Housley said that he was trying to get across to councillors that 76 per cent of the work his officers were dealing with wasn’t crime but included working with complex children, families and those with mental health issues.

He said: “I have just spent an hour with 25 new student officers, they truly have a ‘public service ethos’ and understanding of what their role is, we recruit really good people in Lincolnshire.

“My job as a senior leader is to ensure they are given the tools, time and leadership to continue to deliver for their community. In recent years we have come through a time in which resources were depleted and support from policing was not as good as it should have been, hence my comment “the public get the police service they deserve”, which is harsh but true.

“My officers are committed to protecting the public, we are investing in training and development, ensuring that we have a workforce that is fit for the job both mentally and professionally.”

Part two is here.

Part three is here.