Government plans to reduce the number of Police Forces by amalgamating existing forces are to be progressed without a full public consultation. Hertfordshire Constabulary have been given under six weeks to submit to the Home Office their single preferred amalgamation option. A proposal to merge Hertfordshire and Essex Constabularies was put forward by both counties but has already been rejected by the Government. The three core options being imposed by government are now restricted to
• One force Herts, Beds, Cambs, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
• Two forces divided east/west – Herts/Beds/Cambs and Essex/Norfolk/Suffolk
• Two forces divided north/south – Herts/Beds/Essex and Cambs/Norfolk/Suffolk
The Police are required to recommend just one of these options by 23rd December 2005. The Police Authority have scheduled a meeting to make this decision on 16th December 2005.
Mike Penning, MP for Hemel Hempstead, and David Gauke, MP for South West Hertfordshire received notice of this in a letter from the police. They commented:
“We are deeply concerned that the consultation on this critical change is to be very restricted. Only Neighbourhood Watch Coordinators and ‘stakeholders’ will be contacted and invited to give their views. The public in Hertfordshire are not being generally consulted. The argument supporting this, that there is not enough time, is just unacceptable. We fear that this may be another example of this government bulldozing through its wishes without proper thought and public consultation.”
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