Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner: Do you want Sussex Police to merge with other county forces?

By Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne OBE

The government is actively pursuing major police reforms and has announced plans to reduce the current 43 police forces across England and Wales into fewer, larger ‘mega forces’ based on regions. Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, is leading a review for the Government and is expected to make preliminary recommendations in the summer for Ministers to consider.

The argument in favour of amalgamation is that bigger forces would be better equipped to tackle today’s most complex challenges, particularly serious organised crime, where smaller forces are reportedly struggling. By pooling resources, expertise and intelligence, the Government and some police leaders believe these larger, regional forces could deliver stronger investigations and more successful outcomes for victims.

There are obvious advantages of scale in procurement, technology, equipment and processes but there are already established national policing organisations and associated commercial bodies set up to achieve this.

The existing constabulary model of British policing is admired and often replicated the world over, not least because of its consensual model of ‘local policing’ with police officers and staff drawn from the communities they serve and not a centrally managed and imposed national police force. 

That’s not to say the current model doesn’t need modernising but bigger is not necessarily better - look at declining public confidence in Police Scotland or the Metropolitan Police. Organisations can become too big to fail, too difficult to manage or hold accountable and local priorities get overlooked with the pull factor of resourcing going towards the needs of larger cities.

It seems as if the Home Secretary – like many ministers in a new Government – has pulled the levers of power in Westminster to find the connections from Whitehall to front lines services have gone slack or snapped entirely.

I understand that if Ministers want to drive better performance in public services from the centre, there is a temptation to set targets but, when this has been done under previous administrations, the impact on policing was to create a culture of chasing arbitrary performance targets rather than chasing criminals. 

The public is likely to be confused by the government’s mixed messages – promising devolution to new mayors while, at the same time, concentrating greater power over policing at the centre.

There is a real danger that our much-loved county model of policing could be swept away without any regard for the concerns of residents and taxpayers who have not been consulted.

This reform to policing will be huge and I want to ensure that the voices of Sussex residents and businesses are heard. That’s why I am launching a public survey to capture your views on these potential police force mergers. Whilst consolidating forces may well deliver economies of scale, neither the Government nor the police chiefs driving these proposed changes have yet asked for any public feedback.

I also need to see whether and how these measures and other proposed police reforms are realistically and sufficiently resourced. I have always supported collaboration and the use of data and AI to improve police efficiencies – Sussex Police already collaborates with Surrey Police - but Sussex taxpayers will not welcome being asked to shoulder an even larger share of policing costs in the rush to merge into larger regional forces, especially if local priorities and needs are overlooked.

 Please share your views on the plans for police reform with me here: Police Force Mergers