WEST Mercia’s Police and Crime Commissioner has criticised proposals for larger regional police forces, saying residents want policing to remain locally accountable.
John Campion was responding to comments from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley about police force mergers, which have been set out in a speech today.
Mr Campion accused Mr Rowley of “gross hypocrisy” for championing local policing in London while supporting changes which he said could move decision-making further away from communities elsewhere.
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He said: “Policing has a proud tradition of being operationally independent and politically impartial, which makes the Metropolitan Police Commissioner’s repeated interventions in debates about police governance and structures in the rest of the country all the more troubling.
“At a time when forces are grappling with funding pressures, rising demand and a criminal justice system under significant strain, I question whether spending time, money and leadership attention on creating mega forces should be the priority.”
Mr Campion said he had previously consulted thousands of residents across West Mercia about the possibility of police force mergers.
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He said the majority rejected the idea and valued having policing which was locally accountable.
“They do not want to see their police force absorbed into a larger regional structure, and those views deserve to be heard,” he said.
The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners has also questioned the case for reducing the number of forces across the country.
It said: “The case for modernisation and a National Police Service is clear. The case for reducing 43 forces to nine regional ‘mega-forces’ is not.”
Mr Campion’s intervention comes as the debate continues over the future structure of policing and whether larger forces could improve the way services are delivered.
