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News Release 10th November 2005STAFFORDSHIRE POLICE MERGERThe Police National Structures Review Unit of the Home Office, which just happens to be chaired by Staffordshire's Chief Constable John Giffard, has concluded that Staffordshire Police must merge either into a regional west midlands force or with the West Mercia Force. Michael Fabricant has now written to Home Office Minister Hazel Blears to say that he is "bitterly opposed to any regional merger. If Staffordshire Police believe, however, that a merger with another force would lead to better policing on our streets, I would not oppose a merger with the West Mercia Constabulary which has similar policing requirements to our own." Michael adds: "I oppose any merger into the West Midlands force which is huge by comparison and is centred on policing in Birmingham and the Black Country. This calls for a very different type of policing than that which we need in predominantly rural counties like Staffordshire. Our local police would just be 'swallowed up' by the West Midlands force and make the service more remote. "I am also very concerned with plans to merge the excellent Staffordshire Ambulance Service in with that of the West Midlands Ambulance Service which has slower response times in emergencies. The Government's obsession with 'regionalisation' will do nothing to improve services in Staffordshire". In a letter to Michael Fabricant, Hazel Blears says "I believe that the changes being proposed will be of considerable benefit to policing in this country. In particular, they will help us meet the need to improve protective services whilst maintaining the quality of service provided to individual neighbourhoods and prevent these local resources from being disrupted by other demands on the police. Tackling crime and antisocial behaviour remain our priority and these reforms will strengthen local policing by ensuring greater resilience and capability at local and regional level, without abstracting officers from their neighbourhood duties." |
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