North West Police and Crime Commissioners oppose force merger proposals
A joint statement has been released by the PCC's for Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside and North Wales
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Police and Crime Commissioners for the North West have joined forces to oppose proposals to merge police forces into bigger, regional organisations.
The Government launched a review in January to consider dramatically reducing the number of forces across England and Wales.
Ministers said the move would "make the police more cost-efficient, giving the taxpayer more value for money, while also ensuring a less fragmented system that will better serve the public and make them safer."
Following a meeting of National Police Chiefs in Manchester today (6 November), a joint statement was issued by the five Police and Crime Commissioners covering Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside and North Wales:
"As the Police and Crime Commissioners of the North West, we are united in our opposition to proposals to merge local police forces into a small number of regional "mega-forces".
"We support reform that strengthens policing, improves technology and helps tackle modern crime. However, we do not believe reducing the number of local police forces is the answer.
"The Government is already proposing significant changes to policing, including a new National Police Service and enhanced national capabilities to tackle serious and organised crime, cybercrime and other complex threats.
"Against that backdrop, we are deeply concerned that large-scale force mergers would be costly, complex and disruptive, diverting leadership, resources and attention away from frontline policing for years.
"At a time when forces are being asked to do more with less, spending potentially hundreds of millions of pounds on restructuring policing is the wrong priority.
"Every pound spent on reorganisation is a pound not spent keeping people safe."
The statement continues: "There is no evidence that bigger automatically means better. Our communities regularly tell us about the importance of local connections, knowledge and accountability.
"The North West already benefits from strong collaboration, allowing us to tackle regional and national threats while retaining the local connections that communities value and rely upon.
"What policing needs now is investment in officers, staff, technology and victim services, not years of structural upheaval.
"Communities across Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside and North Wales face different challenges and deserve policing that is responsive to their local needs.
"We urge the Government to focus on strengthening neighbourhood policing and delivering meaningful reform, rather than pursuing force mergers that risk weakening the connection between policing and the public.
"Policing is strongest when it remains close to the communities it serves. Reform should strengthen that connection, not weaken it."