Police chiefs back call for 'fewer, bigger forces' in government shake-up

Police chiefs have backed government proposals to cut the number of forces in England and Wales.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), which represents senior officers, said "fewer, bigger forces" would make it easier to tackle organised crime.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced proposals in January to shake up policing by significantly reducing the number of forces. There are currently 43 across England and Wales under a system established in the 1960s.

Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe is in the process of carrying out an independent review of the plans and is expected to make recommendations later this year.

Critics – including the Conservatives and some branches of the Police Federation – have expressed concern about the proposals, saying that fewer forces will not necessarily help reduce crime amid funding shortages.

The NPCC cautiously backed the proposals earlier this year, praising ministers for "clearly listening to the views of policing and putting together a package of ambitious and far-reaching measures which reflect the voice of our service".

Now, in stronger comments supporting the idea, the organisation's chair Chief Constable Gavin Stephens said the current system was not "national enough to cope with local threats" and that funding was "not fairly distributed".

Speaking during a media briefing, he said forces were "struggling with about half a billion pounds" worth of cuts and that having fewer of them would help the fight against crime.

Mr Stephens added: "Having fewer, bigger forces with really defined local policing areas, giving a much stronger guarantee to the public about what they get in their local policing area, would make it much easier for us to join up our intelligence, our effort against organised crime, our co-operation across force boundaries.

"Local policing is not about the location of your headquarters or your accessibility to the chief constable and the number of forces. It's about local sergeants, inspectors, neighbourhood officers knowing their communities."

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Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson added: "The system at the moment just has too many entities, too many decision-makers."

He said savings would come from regional reform, "because we are paying for 43 chief constables, 43 deputy chief constables, 43 headquarters, 43 IT departments, 43 means of procurement".

Earlier this year, Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said there was "no evidence" that merging police forces would cut crime or improve performance.

Some branches of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, also expressed concern.

Speaking in January, Norfolk Police Federation chair Andy Symonds said there was potential to save money by merging his force with neighbouring Suffolk, but added that "fewer forces won't guarantee a better service".

He added: "I don't see anywhere in the proposals that there will be any more investment in resources and people. So it will be the same amount of people trying to do the same sheer volume of work, but just named differently."

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