WIREDGOV

APCC Chair Emily Spurrell responded to reports that the Home Secretary is considering significantly reducing the number of police forces in England and Wales as part of the police reform programme, 

“While we support the police reform agenda, we urge caution about how much structural change can be achieved simultaneously, especially when police finances are so tight. We would also suggest caution in assuming big is necessarily better when it comes to the size of forces. Significantly larger forces could become disconnected from the communities they serve, and those who pay for them through local taxes. Holding larger forces to account and deliver cultural change can also be more difficult to achieve.

“A force mergers programme would be slow and expensive to deliver and could prove an unwelcome distraction from other much needed reforms such as improved efficiency, workforce change, investment in technology and neighbourhood policing and from delivering on the government’s pledges to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls. It is worth noting that previous attempts at enforced, large-scale force mergers have been protracted and difficult.”

Notes

Emily Spurrell is Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside