National policing reforms: Councillors fear 'watered down' scrutiny

Proposed Government reforms to reduce the number of police forces across the country could lead to ‘watered down’ scrutiny, a councillor has warned.

A white paper titled ‘From Local to National: A New Model for Policing’ was published yesterday (Monday), detailing changes which could ‘dramatically reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales’.

No official announcement has been made about what exactly this could mean for a potential Thames Valley Police (TVP) merger with neighbouring policing authorities, but the Government said it is planning to reduce the number of forces by the end of the next Parliament.

The plans follow already-announced proposals to abolish Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in 2028, with more powers handed to mayors and local government leaders.

The white paper said: “Mayors and local government leaders are better placed to promote joined-up working to cut crime.

“This new system of police governance will reintegrate policing back into the system of local government in England and Wales, enabling greater collaboration across local services.”

As part of the plans, a nationwide National Police Service will be created to tackle the most complex and serious crimes – dubbed the ‘British FBI’.

Matthew Barber, the PCC for the Thames Valley, told a Royal Borough overview and scrutiny panel meeting last night that a potential TVP merger would be ‘far too large’ in his opinion.

Councillors were also sceptical about how these changes would impact the borough locally.

Councillor Asghar Majeed (Con, Ascot and Sunninghill) raised a resident’s concerns about this regional model potentially leading to a  Government-controlled ‘dictatorship’ – with power shifting to the Home Secretary and the Government in London rather than local control.

Mr Barber made it clear that the changes are not ‘quite in the realms of dictatorship or [the] police state’. 

He said: “But we do need to be really careful about defending some of the underlying principles of British policing that could,  in the hands of the wrong people… cause some problems.

“I don’t think the regional forces themselves create that problem, I think that’s about the Home Secretary’s control directly.

“But I think regional forces inevitably pull policing further away from the public.”

Councillor Gary Reeves (Lib Dem, Cox Green) said that with the abolition of the PCC as part of the proposals, a ‘much larger regional force’ could be created. 

Cllr Reeves said: “I’m just concerned. Obviously, we have the opportunity to be able to talk to you and to call [Thames Valley Police] before us, under scrutiny – a regional scrutinisation of your delivery to us as a much smaller local policing offering.

“My concern here is that scrutiny either gets completely watered down or disappears completely.”

Mr Barber explained that accountability and governance will be done through a council’s ‘internal structures’.

But Cllr Reeves said that as part of scrutiny, it is important that the leader of the council or cabinet members do not sit on the panel.

“That is the point of an overview and scrutiny [panel], that it’s not driven by policy, it’s not driven by political bias,” he added.

Mayors and council leaders will be brought together to form police and crime boards, and these will be ‘scalable’ depending on the size of the police force area, according to the white paper.

It added: “This is not a return to the bureaucratic, invisible, committee-based oversight of policing that existed prior to PCCs, and boards will be more agile than previous police authorities.”

The reforms aim to bring ‘policing closer to the communities they serve’, it said.

Jason Hogg, Thames Valley Police Chief Constable, said he currently attends council meetings every year to keep local authorities updated on what the police are doing locally.

He added: “I’m pretty ‘glass half full’ with regard to the proposals. I do agree that there are too many police forces, there is too much complexity and duplication.

“But I’d hope that the Government see a force like Thames Valley is leading the way. We’re already one of the biggest forces in the country.”