It’s business as usual for our policing teams in Surrey. That’s the message from Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend after a new policing structure for the county went live in the last month.
The Force announced that following a review of how it operates in communities across Surrey – it is moving from having three divisions in the county to two.
Previously – Waverley, Guildford, Woking and Surrey Heath made up West Surrey; East Surrey covered Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Tandridge and Epsom and Ewell and in North Surrey you had Spelthorne, Runnymede and Elmbridge.
Under the new model – Spelthorne and Runnymede will now become part of the West Surrey division while Elmbridge will join the Eastern Division.
Business as usual
The Commissioner said that whilst the move had been the culmination of a lot of hard work behind the scenes – the most important aspect is that the service the residents of Surrey receive is the same.
Lisa said: “All the work that has gone into the planning of this model is to ensure it will be business as usual for our policing teams. Their presence across the county will continue as normal and our communities should not notice any difference.
“This move is not about cutting costs or reducing the number of police officers in the county – on the contrary, Surrey Police has got more police officers in its ranks than ever before and that will not change.
“What this will do is enable Surrey Police to modernise its practices and ensure we have the right people in the right places to meet the increased demand and complexities of policing in 2026 and beyond.
Two unitary authority model
“It will also mean the Force structure will be more closely aligned with the two unitary authority model which the people of Surrey went to the polls on earlier this month. That will come into effect in 2027 and will mean our policing teams can continue to work closely with our partner agencies across Surrey.
“The new model is bedding in at the moment and I will be closely monitoring its progress to ensure the Surrey public continue to receive the best policing service our teams can offer which will continue to make our communities right across Surrey safer.”