Zero tolerance towards on-street drinking and more cops on the streets are two of the pledges from Lincolnshire’s new Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).
In an interview with the Spalding Guardian this week, Alan Hardwick said he was working with Chief Constable Neil Rhodes to ensure people’s views on how the county should be policed were taken on board.
Mr Hardwick takes charge of Lincolnshire’s 1,150 police officers and 430 support staff today after his election success last week and one of his first jobs is to draw up a new policing plan for the county.
He said: “We are in a totally new era of policing where responsibility for the safety and security of the people of Lincolnshire lies with a newly created office.
“I’ve met with all the senior officers of the force and my own staff to make them perfectly aware of what my priorities are, based on getting the opinions of as many people as possible on how their area should be policed.”
Mr Hardwick said on-street drinking and anti-social behaviour were linked and plans would be announced soon to increase police numbers to tackle them.
“Throughout the campaign, I’ve made no secret of the fact that I favour zero tolerance of on-street drinking which leads to an awful lot of anti-social behaviour,” he said.
“It’s alright having exclusion areas but I don’t think they work and I’ll encourage all efforts to work on a zero-tolerance policy which to me is the best way forward.
“The Chief Constable and I are working towards increasing police numbers and we hope to be able to make an announcement on that very shortly.”