POLICE MERGERS DELAY WELCOMED

Charles Hendry, MP for Wealden, has welcomed the Home Secretary's announcement that he plans to delay police mergers until the autumn.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Jul 2006, 11:27 BST
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 22:42 BST

Local opposition to plans to merge Surrey and Sussex police forces have led council leaders in Sussex to express "serious concerns" over the proposal.

Locally it has been thought that a merged force could mean as much as a 17% increase in the police authority charge to residents and a further 20 million to merge the information technology in Surrey and Sussex.

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Nationwide, the government's plans received cross-party criticism and the Yorkshire and Humberside Police Force have threatened legal action to prevent their planned merger with Cleveland Police.

Mr Hendry said: "We welcome the fact that these mergers are being delayed because they were being pushed through far too fast and they have ridden roughshod over local opinion. However, rather than delaying the mergers, the government should be stopping them altogether. These amalgamations are unnecessary and expensive, and they will only damage neighbourhood policing."

He added: "Local residents know that merging police forces will mean fewer police, less accountability and less attention paid to local crime."

Related topics:WealdenSussexSurreyCleveland PoliceYorkshire