Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend says any plans to merge Surrey Police with neighbouring forces would be a “complete disaster” for the county’s residents.
The Government’s anticipated White Paper on police reform, which is due to be published next week, is reported to include proposals to significantly reduce the current number of forces across England and Wales.
It could lead to the creation of ‘mega forces’, with Surrey potentially merging with other neighbouring forces in the south east.
The Government proposals are expected to say this is to save money and boost crime-fighting efforts, but Lisa says she fears this would divert resources from Surrey communities and dilute neighbourhood policing in the county.
“Disaster”
The Commissioner said: “I believe this would be a complete disaster for Surrey residents. We are the safest county in the south east with no city and much lower crime rates than our neighbours.
“My fear is that resources would be pulled away from our communities to support higher crime areas leaving Surrey with a second-rate service.
“Our residents already pay a high price for their policing through their council tax contributions and have told me loud and clear how much they value the local policing presence in their neighbourhoods.
“Surrey Police have made great strides in recent years in increasing visibility and tackling those crimes important to the public.
Commissioner’s concerns
“I believe the creation of regional forces would not only be expensive and complex to deliver, but here in Surrey would result in the dilution of both local accountability and the service our residents rightly expect.
“Police reform is absolutely necessary and we want to work with the Government to create better ways to tackle issues nationally, such as serious organised crime which is expected to form part of the White Paper next week.
“But my fear is that any merger plans could potentially delay and derail those ambitions.
“Local policing needs to be left to local police forces to deliver. At a time when we need to rebuild public confidence in policing, these potential merger plans serve only to distance our policing teams from the communities they serve.
“Our residents deserve better than this.”