LibDems oppose Super Police Force
March 23, 2006 5:50 PM
The number of police forces in England and Wales is to be cut from 43 to 24 under controversial merger plans. In the East Midlands, five existing constabularies will merge to form one "super force".
The LibDem regional conference has passed a motion opposing the merger and calling for stronger democratic accountability for local policing. The full text is as follows:
This conference recognises the need for stronger, more locally accountable police forces serving the East Midlands.
We regret the decision of the Home Secretary to insist on the merger of the five police forces in the East Midlands, against the wishes of every police authority in the region.
We note that the proposed merger will cost millions of pounds with uncertain long term savings, and call on the government to retain the existing 5 County based police forces in this region.
While we support measures to promote co-operation and pooling of resources to tackle cross border crime and the threat of terrorism, forced mergers are not necessary to achieve this.
This conference calls for measures to strengthen community policing by greater democratic accountability at both the BCU (Basic Command Unit) level, and the neighbourhood level, and calls on the Federal Party to campaign for stronger, not weaker, links between the police and the communities they serve.
Police authorities have until 7 April to respond to the proposals, although the final say on the reforms lies with the home secretary.
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