'Regional police forces would be less effective'

Reported government proposals to merge and reduce the number of forces would "weaken local policing", one of the region's police and crime commissioners says.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is said to be considering reforms which could see the number of forces in England and Wales cut from 43 mainly county-based forces to 12 regional ones, according to a report in The Times.

Mahmood hinted at sweeping changes at a conference of police leaders last month.

But Hertfordshire Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) Jonathan Ash-Edwards said the move would damage public confidence.

He said "super-sized" regional forces would be slower to respond and harder to hold to account.

"At a time when every pound should be going into frontline policing and crime fighting, this regional reorganisation risks wasting millions on management reshuffles, consultants, rebranding and empire building," he said.

"Hertfordshire's policing should be led by people based in Hertfordshire and accountable to Hertfordshire, not run by regional commanders based in Ipswich or Peterborough."

Last month, the Home Office announced that the roles of PCCs would be abolished, with Mahmood saying the policy "had not worked".

A White Paper on the future of policing is expected this month.

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