“We need to keep visible frontline policing” Boris tells Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner

Lincolnshire’s police and crime commissioner is lobbying both candidates in the fight for number 10 to persuade them of the need to provide better funding for the county.
Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones met with Boris Johnson EMN-190407-145943001Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones met with Boris Johnson EMN-190407-145943001
Lincolnshire PCC Marc Jones met with Boris Johnson EMN-190407-145943001

PCC Marc Jones met Boris Johnson yesterday and put his case for more cash to deliver vital services including health, education, local government and policing services across Lincolnshire and to put additional police officers on our streets.

He was part of a delegation of Conservative PCCs to meet the prospective Prime Minister at a special meeting held at a police training centre near Reading.

He is due to speak with Jeremy Hunt sometime next week.

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His meeting with Mr Johnson, came 24 hours before the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip announced plans to allocate an additional £1.1b to fund 20,000 extra police officers if he is selected as the next Tory leader.

He said he wanted to reach that target, increasing the number of officers to 140,000, by 2022.

Both leadership hopefuls have already responded to a join letter from the 20 PCCs and were very clear about their commitment to policing, tackling crime and investing in prevention.

The Tory leadership contest will be decided by a ballot of around 160,000 Conservative Party members, with an announcement in the week beginning July 22.

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Mr Jones said: “It was a very encouraging meeting and I was clear about the challenges faced in Lincolnshire across the whole public sector.

“I felt Boris clearly understood the issues faced in a large rural area and was keen to redress the balance.

“He was committed to increasing police officer numbers and to reforming the funding formula which so disadvantages our county.

“I also expressed my support for a ‘police covenant’ which would see support for officers similar to those within the armed forces covenant.

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“I was impressed by his grasp of the issues and his straight talking. He listed intently and I feel confident he will deliver on the promise of providing the resources we need to keep Lincolnshire feeling and being safe into the future.”

Mr Johnson said: “We want to make sure we keep the number of police officers high and we need to keep visible frontline policing. That’s what we did in London and that’s what I want to in the whole of the UK to cut crime and keep people safe.”