Joining forces to beat crime? (From Stroud News and Journal)

Joining forces to beat crime?

Following a recent Home Office report, which suggests constabularies in England and Wales are too small to deal with organised crime and terrorism, police force mergers have been making local and national headlines.

Now Gloucestershire Constabulary is under threat as an independent organisation for the first time in its 166-year history. ALLI PYRAH investigates how law and order is changing in and around Stroud.

IN less than two years, Gloucestershire Constabulary will cease to exist if the Home Office goes ahead with its plans.

Instead, police in the county will be part of a new superforce, along with officers from Avon & Somerset, Dorset & Wiltshire, and possibly Devon & Cornwall.

Under the new proposals, there would be more policemen and women, but less per square mile.

At present, Gloucestershire Constabulary has 1,300 officers covering 1,000 square miles.

The Home Office offers two choices:

1) Gloucestershire Constabulary will merge with Avon & Somerset and Wiltshire & Dorset. Around 7,400 officers would be spread over 5,500 square miles.

2) Gloucestershire Constabulary will merge with Avon & Somerset, Wiltshire & Dorset and Devon & Cornwall. Around 10,800 officers would police 9,500 square miles.

Gloucestershire Constabulary has never made any secret of the fact it is against the proposals for a merger.

In October, it submitted the case for remaining independent to the Home Office.

However, the Government has now indicated that its preferred option is that one of the two mergers go ahead.

It has been estimated that the set-up cost of the merger would be between £45 million and £64 million, which would take the local council taxpayer around 25 years to repay. As yet, there is no indication that the Home Office will be making a special grant available to help fund this. In the long term, the figure may be offset by economies of scale, though the Government has not indicated precisely how much the proposals will cost or what savings will be possible.

But more importantly, will the people of Gloucestershire be getting value for money in terms of the quality of policing they receive?

Stonehouse pensioner Les Pugh believes public attitudes towards the police have undergone a gradual change since he moved to Eastington in 1919.

"There was one sergeant who rode about on a bike and everyone was frightened to death of him," said Mr Pugh, a former pupil of Marling School. "He once caught my friend and I with air rifles, and my friend was so scared he wet himself.

"In those days we respected discipline and authority. Crime was at a minimum."

Mr Pugh, 90, has been a victim of burglary three times, though he thwarted the thieves on the last occasion. He was impressed by the personalised approach Gloucestershire Constabulary took in responding to the crimes.

"They handled it wonderfully well," he said. "The lady police officer was absolutely brilliant. She looked after me and did everything I wanted."

He is opposed to the merger because he believes a more centralised, anonymous police force would be detrimental to the relationship officers have with the public.

"It's a retrograde step and the worst possible thing they can do," he said. "Everything should be kept in the region. I think the further away the control point from where the action is, the harder it will be to respond to it effectively."

But is the idea of bobbies on bikes just rose-tinted nostalgia, or are smaller, more localised forces more effective?

In terms of terrorism and organised crime, Gloucestershire Constabulary were assessed as exceeding the national average for smaller forces in these areas. The force has successfully dealt with the West Case and the huge Sajit Badat counter terrorism operation and is recognised as a centre of excellence for financial investigation.

Part of the reason for its good record is an increase in council tax three years ago. This has enabled the constabulary to invest in technology and employ more detectives, as well as creating over 60 jobs for police community support officers.

Stroud MP David Drew is concerned that resources paid for by the Gloucestershire taxpayer could be redistributed to less well-equipped counties when the merger goes ahead.

"At the moment I don't think the case has been proven for a change in the way Gloucestershire Constabulary operates," he said.

"Gloucestershire does well, but that's largely because we had a higher precept on council tax.

"There is a danger that what we have already invested in Gloucestershire could be lost. It could be shipped off to other counties that are deficient in that area."

But despite the Home Office recommendations, it is not too late for the public to influence the decision that will eventually be made over the merger.

Tim Brain, chief constable of Gloucestershire Constabulary, said it was important for the public to make their views known.

"The Home Office has made it clear that it wants this merger to take place but it accepts there must be a consultation exercise," he said.

"There isn't a lot going for it for us. We would be contributors rather than benefactors from a merger.

"The overwhelming majority of people in Gloucestershire are making it clear that they want policing in this county to be run locally."

How to have your say on the proposed merger:

*Complete a survey at www.gloucestershire.police.uk . The results will be collated and passed on to the Home Secretary.

*Attend your local Police and Community Consultative Meeting. Dates are available on the Police Authority website at www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/policeauthority

*Call 01242 276676 and leave a message with your thoughts about the proposals. Calls are charged at BT standard rate.

*Write directly to: Charles Clarke, Home Secretary, Home Office, Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF.