Conservatives pledge 275 more officers for region

The Conservatives have pledged to recruit an additional 275 police officers across Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire if the party returns to government, as part of plans to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour.

Under the proposals, Lincolnshire Police would receive 124 additional officers, while Humberside Police would gain 151.

The party said the new recruits would help tackle antisocial behaviour, shoplifting and knife crime, which it claimed were damaging public confidence and community safety.

The Home Office said: "This government has already committed to delivering 13,000 extra police into neighbourhoods blighted by antisocial behaviour by 2029."

The Conservatives said the measures would restore visible policing and ensure crimes carry "real and immediate consequences".

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said people increasingly felt that those breaking the law were not facing consequences for their actions.

"Under Labour, too many people have been left feeling that the rules no longer apply and that those who break them can act with impunity," he said.

"Whether it's shoplifting, antisocial behaviour or violent crime, the visible signs of a breakdown in law and order are all around us."

The recruitment programme would be backed by measures including greater use of stop and search, live facial recognition in crime hotspots, tougher action on cannabis possession and stronger penalties for dangerous e-bike and e-scooter use.

Earlier this year, Lincolnshire Police unveiled plans to recruit an extra 148 officers after it received more funding from the government.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch defended an earlier cut in police numbers under a Conservative government when approximately 20,000 officers left between 2010 and 2019.

Since 2019, an extra 20,951 officers joined forces across England and Wales under the Conservatives.

Speaking to BBC Look North, Badenoch claimed the earlier cuts were "because there wasn't any money" left by the outgoing Labour government.

"So I became an MP in 2017 and what I saw was us increasing police numbers once we sorted the economy and that's what I want us to do again," she said.

A Home Office spokesperson said the government was "delivering the biggest reforms to policing in over 200 years".

"In the first year of this pledge, more than 3,800 extra personnel were in these roles across England and Wales, including 236 additional neighbourhood officers in Yorkshire and the Humber," they added.

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