Member Article

Police Merger Talks Begin

Discussions have begun on how best to restructure the three police forces in North East England.

Chief constables, Police Authority chairs and clerks from Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland forces have until February 24 to reach an agreement over merging the three constabularies, otherwise the Home Secretary will order a four month consultation period which could lead to enforced amalgamation. Although Durham and Northumbria are both favour a single strategic force, Cleveland Police Force has so far remained in opposition to the merger.

The Home Office is expected to give details this week of what funding will be available to enable mergers and to give authorities more information on how they will be structured in future. Northumbria Deputy Chief Constable David Warcup said: “Developing a single force for the North East is about having the capacity to police at a neighbourhood level and at the same time deal with crime on a broader scale, both regional and national. “What’s important about the future is the level of service which can be provided. We are absolutely sure that the proper aim of a single force will be to provide better policing.?

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .