West Mercia to seek Judicial Review

11.18.56am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 6th Jun 2006

Police on the Beat

West Mercia Police Authority are seeking a Judicial Review in relation to the Home Office proposals for new police structures across England and Wales.

Paul Deneen, Chairman of West Mercia's Police Authority explained, "We have asked the Home Office repeatedly for an explanation as to how they came to the decision that forces are to merge across England and Wales and we received a letter from them yesterday, Thursday June 1."

"The West Mercia Police Authority remains strongly opposed to the regional option of a merger. The former Home Secretary Charles Clarke last autumn allowed only a three-month period in order to plan for a proposed 30-year structural change in policing.

"In March 2006 we were told that the merger should commence in April 2007. This decision that a new force and Authority involving 21,000 staff, £1billion budget, being organised from late summer which would in effect allow around 140 working days to prepare for this huge merger.

"It is wholly unrealistic, unnecessary and unacceptable to expect this rushed and untested model of policing to be forced upon the communities of West Mercia.

"We have studied the response from the Home Office in detail and are disappointed with its contents and lack of real information. As a result we feel we have no alternative but to start proceedings for a Judicial Review.

"The force and the Authority have tried to participate in the process of restructuring but the lack of information and consultation from the Home Office has caused unnecessary hurdles.

"There are only a few weeks left before a final decision is made about the future of West Mercia Constabulary and we hope that the Judicial Review will allow a full and thorough examination of the process behind the merger proposals."

West Mercia Constabulary's Chief Constable Paul West added, "We are certainly not opposed to change and recognise that the current structure of police forces across England and Wales is not necessarily the best model for the future. However, on such a critical issue we need to be given the opportunity to explore and evaluate alternative models without the artificial constraints of minimum staff numbers and regional government boundaries to constrain creative thinking.

"The Authority carried out extensive research late last year to find out what the public opinion was in relation to the proposed merger, the results of which were clear. The people in the area simply do not see a huge regional police force, delivering services across five counties and the West Midlands conurbation as being an attractive proposition.

"West Mercia Constabulary is currently in the process of a £2.9 million recruitment programme to strengthen our capacity and capability to deal with serious and organised crime, major crime investigation, counter terrorism and to assist with the introduction of neighbourhood policing teams over the next two years. These resources are being provided at no additional cost to local council taxpayers.

"Together with the Police Authority I am very reluctant to take this step towards seeking a legal remedy but feel there is no alternative given the pace at which this process has been forced through by the previous Home Secretary and the lack of information that the Home Office have provided to justify his decision.

"I am strongly of the view that major structural changes to the way in which police services are delivered in our communities should be well planned, carefully thought through and subject to wide-scale public debate and scrutiny.

"Senior government officials, including the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, have said repeatedly that they recognise the importance of listening to local people's views. They have a chance to do that now."