Hertfordshire PCC takes fight against police mergers to national stage warning it risks leaving rural communities behind

Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards has warned that plans to replace local police forces with larger regional organisations risk leaving rural communities overlooked, while diverting billions of pounds away from frontline policing.

Mr Ash-Edwards, who has consistently championed locally accountable policing, said communities across Hertfordshire must not lose their voice in decisions about policing priorities as national calls for sweeping structural reform grow.

Mr Ash-Edwards has taken his concerns to a national audience, speaking on BBC Breakfast about the risks of merging police forces, the importance of protecting rural policing and the need to ensure policing decisions remain accountable to local communities.

The PCC said the proposals could result in years of costly disruption, with policing decisions taken further away from the towns, villages and rural communities they affect.

He pointed to the specific challenges facing rural areas, where residents and businesses need confidence that their concerns will be understood and reflected in local policing priorities.

Mr Ash-Edwards has made protecting local policing and ensuring communities have a say in how they are policed central to his approach as Commissioner.

He said there was no convincing evidence that replacing successful local forces with much larger regional organisations would improve policing or make residents safer.

Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, said:

 

“There is no evidence that creating large regional police forces will improve the fight against crime. Independent data shows that the police forces which solve the most crime and are most trusted by the public are smaller, county forces like Cheshire, Norfolk and Hertfordshire.

“Large regional forces in London and Scotland have been beset by cultural and conduct issues, low crime detection rates and cuts to local policing. Size and scale does not automatically mean a better service to the public. We should not make the same mistakes in our counties.

“Regional police forces will be distant from the public with decisions being made further away by people who don’t know the communities they serve. That inevitably means rural areas and smaller towns will lose out. Every Police & Crime Commissioner who has consulted residents in their areas has found strong public opposition to regional police forces.

"Residents tell me they want visible officers, criminals caught and action on the issues affecting their neighbourhoods. They are not asking for billions of pounds to be spent dismantling local police forces.

“Policing needs sensible modernisation and investment not top-down and expensive regional reorganisation that will distract policing and divert resources from the frontline. Bigger does not automatically mean better, and Hertfordshire is demonstrating that locally focused policing can deliver results."

Hertfordshire was among the top ten police forces nationally for the proportion of crime solved at the start of this year. Recent figures also show shoplifting has fallen by 12 per cent and robbery by 13 per cent over the last year.

Public confidence in Hertfordshire Constabulary is the highest in the country, with 59 per cent of residents saying the police are doing a good or excellent job, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

There is also significant local opposition to police mergers. A survey of Hertfordshire residents found 68 per cent opposed any form of merger, while 60 per cent believed they would feel less safe if one went ahead.

Mr Ash-Edwards said these results reinforced the importance of listening to local people before embarking on fundamental changes to policing.

The financial implications are also significant. Sir Stephen Watson, who supports creating larger regional forces, has acknowledged that mergers could cost "a couple of billion quid" to establish.

 

Mr Ash-Edwards warned that the cost and disruption of restructuring would divert valuable resources and attention from frontline policing at a time when forces are already facing significant financial pressures.

He added:

"At a time when police budgets are under enormous pressure, we should be investing in the things that actually make communities safer, not spending billions on restructuring.

"Some £100 million has already been taken from policing budgets over the past year to fund reform and restructuring work. That is money which could have been supporting frontline policing, preventing crime and protecting communities.

"And that is before we even consider the billions that could be spent merging forces. It is extraordinary that we are contemplating such huge expenditure without clear evidence that it will make the public safer.

"That is particularly important for rural areas, where access to visible, responsive local policing matters enormously.

"I support reform that improves policing, including better collaboration between forces, smarter use of technology and reducing bureaucracy. But reform must deliver tangible benefits for the public.

"Why would we spend billions dismantling local police forces that are delivering results when that money could be invested in preventing crime, catching criminals and supporting victims?

"I will continue to stand up for Hertfordshire's communities and make the case for policing that remains local, accountable and focused on what residents need."