Lincolnshire Police HQ, Nettleham. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Violent crime and low force morale will take priority in 2021 for the new Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police as he takes on the role.
Violent crime and domestic abuse have been on the rise this year in Lincolnshire. According to UK Crime Stats, Lincolnshire Police received reports of 1,920 violent offences in October 2020, up from 1,881 in January.
Chris Haward, newly-appointed Chief Constable for Lincolnshire Police, said: “There’s clearly some work to do around our crime performance and reducing crime.
“I think there’s an awful lot of good work going on around violent crime reduction against some of our most prolific offenders that work is already ongoing.”
Lincoln Speakers Corner tree bench now open
A new place to sit on Lincoln High Street
There is now a seating area at Speakers Corner to replace the demolished kiosk. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
People in Lincoln have been enjoying using the new bench at Speakers Corner on the High Street after the old kiosk was demolished.
The Cornhill kiosk off Lincoln High Street was torn down in September, to make the area a “more appropriate space for events”.
Now there’s an open bench surrounding the existing London Plane tree, which was kept in place.
It hasn’t taken High Street users long to utilise the bench. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
Lincoln police close Portland Street after incident
Incident believed to be stabbing, but not confirmed by police
Portland Street was closed by police. | Photo: Tom Washington
A police cordon has been put in place after an incident on Portland Street in Lincoln on Tuesday night, which police say will be closed for “some time”.
It is understood that someone has been seriously injured and there have been claims of an alleged stabbing, but this has not been confirmed.
Lincolnshire Police said shortly after 8.15pm on December 22 that officers were dealing with the incident and advised that people should avoid the area if possible.
Tier 4 looms for Greater Lincolnshire with 265 COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths on Tuesday
Tighter lockdown by the New Year
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Greater Lincolnshire has been tipped to move to tier 4 by the new year, with 265 new coronavirus cases and 28 COVID-related deaths reported on Tuesday.
The government’s COVID-19 dashboard recorded 196 new cases in Lincolnshire, 38 in North Lincolnshire and 31 in North East Lincolnshire.
On Tuesday, 24 deaths were registered in Lincolnshire, two in North Lincolnshire and two in North East Lincolnshire. These figures include deaths both in and out of hospitals, as well as residents in hospitals outside the county. Lincolnshire’s deaths have now surpassed 900 since the pandemic started.
Two injured in industrial incident at Spalding factory
Workers were upgrading the electrical substation
Two men were injured after an industrial incident at Bakkavor’s factory in Spalding.
Three contractors were carrying out remedial work on one of many electrical substations at the site on West Marsh Road.
The incident was reported to Lincolnshire Police at 11.54am on Tuesday, December 22 and two men suffered injuries which are not believe to be life threatening.
They were taken to hospital for medical assessment.
The incident will now be dealt with by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
A spokesperson for Bakkavor said: “We can confirm there has been an incident on the Spalding site involving three contractors who were carrying out remedial work on one of many electrical substations on site.