Boston policing plan
Working together to make Boston the safest place to live, work and visit.
The Borough of Boston has a diverse community and a rich heritage. Boston, with a population of circa. 46000 people is the second largest conurbation in the Lincolnshire policing area. It’s an energetic market town with numerous historic buildings throughout. The Borough of Boston consists of the town of Boston plus 18 other parishes each represented by a parish council. The port of Boston serves much of the country, shipping goods into and out of the UK, grain in particular. The borough borders the districts of East Lindsey and South Holland. With one of the most diverse communities in Lincolnshire, Boston welcomes people of different nationalities to carry out all sorts of work, but particularly agricultural, on the vast expanse of farmland in south Lincolnshire.
With such a diverse community, we are aware of how this impacts the demands on policing and our public service partners. The Neighbourhood Policing Plan will help us target our resources to protect communities, who will have a real say in our local policing priorities. We will use an evidence-based approach, examining police and partner data to identify needs and a problem-solving approach to respond to them. Our resources will be targeted towards those areas of high harm and vulnerability.
The Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) operates from Boston Police Station covering the borough. We work alongside our 24/7 response policing teams who provide the all important emergency response function. We also have specialist support teams such as the Rural Crime Action Team and the Roads Policing Unit.
We have a very close working relationship with Boston Borough Council and other partners, tackling antisocial behaviour and crime collectively. The NPT and the council have initiated Operation Plotting which aims to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime. The Neighbourhood Policing Team and the council recently placed joint bids for additional funding and were awarded just over £300k which will see additional staff and interventions implemented to tackle ASB and crime. Two additional community wardens, working for the council, will be employed in the town centre as result of Operation Plotting. We also work very closely with the University of Lincoln who are working with the community to set up residents’ groups and conduct focus groups.
Over the last year the local NPT have been undertaking crime hotspot patrols and have reduced ASB linked to street drinking by 50% in 2023 compared to previous years. The team will continue to focus on this as an area of need and are aiming to reduce incidents of this nature even further.
Our officers work incredibly hard throughout the year, and I am proud to be part of such a fantastic team of people. By continuing to work in partnership with other agencies, I am confident that we can make the Borough of Boston the safest possible place for people to live, work and visit.
Download the full Boston policing plan below.
T/Inspector Ian Cotton
Neighbourhood Policing – Boston