Force faces merger (From Gazette Series)

Force faces merger

THE police force in Gloucestershire will be merged with that of another county, or counties, if plans announced this week by Home Secretary Charles Clarke go ahead.

Mr Clarke's proposals for change in the nation's police service, which include the merger of small forces such as Gloucestershire, were announced on Friday and discussed with chief constables on Monday.

Gloucestershire's Chief Constable, Dr Timothy Brain, said he was confident that the Gloucestershire Constabulary had the potential for a dynamic future. He added, however, that he recognised that the Home Secretary believed in different arrangements.

"It will be important for the people of Gloucestershire to have their say and we will listen very carefully to their views," Dr Brain said on Monday.

Gloucestershire Constabulary currently employs approximately 1,300 police officers. Under the Home Secretary's proposals, no force in England and Wales would be below 4,000 police officers.

The proposals are contained in a 116-page report published on Friday by Mr Denis O'Connor, one of her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabularies.

The report stresses the need for the police service nationally to develop increased capabilities to deal with serious and organised crime which crosses force boundaries.

Speaking to chief constables and chairs of police authorities on Monday, Mr Clarke said that change was essential to meet the new challenges of the 21st century and that, while his mind was not closed to any alternative suggestions, he believed that the case had been made for larger strategic forces to be the norm.

No "lines on the map" or possible combinations of forces were presented or discussed. Instead, the Home Secretary said he would be writing to all chairman of police authorities and chief constables to outline a timetable ending on December 31 in which forces and authorities could consider the proposals and make their suggestions as to the way forward.

Dr Brain said the Gloucestershire Constabulary would now be reviewing the report in detail and assessing its own current performance and capability against the recommendations.