Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has backed proposals to merge police forces in England and Wales, but says he would prefer any changes to retain a regional footprint covering Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.
John Tizard said police reform was “long overdue” and that the country needed a model of policing fit for the modern world, with mergers and greater collaboration between forces forming part of the changes.
His comments come as the government prepares to publish specific proposals for police reform later this year, with the potential for significant changes to the way forces are organised and operate.
In a statement, Mr Tizard said he recognised the need for mergers but favoured retaining a geographical structure based around Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire rather than creating a larger, more remote policing area.
He said: “I recognise the need for mergers but would prefer a footprint such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire rather than a larger and more remote geographical base.”
Mr Tizard argued that larger police services should concentrate on specialist and collaborative functions, while local policing units should retain responsibility for community policing, response policing, criminal investigation department (CID) functions, safeguarding, prevention and partnership working with local authorities.
He said local policing units should be accountable to locally elected officials, such as mayors or local authority boards, or in the short term to police and crime commissioners, while remaining operationally independent and accountable to the chief constable.
The commissioner also suggested larger forces could provide services such as armed policing, road traffic policing, major crime investigations and scientific support.
He said these arrangements should strengthen local policing rather than weaken it, with larger services also subject to democratic accountability.
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire already have a history of collaboration, with Mr Tizard pointing out that the three forces had worked together for 15 years and spent about 25 per cent of their budgets on collaboration.
He said they also shared common human resources and IT systems, including an approach to the use of artificial intelligence.
Mr Tizard said: “We must not oppose reform for the sake of opposition or for nostalgic reasons. We must focus on improving outcomes and building public trust and confidence.”
He outlined six criteria against which he would assess any proposed changes, including whether they would improve the police’s ability to prevent, respond to and solve crimes, strengthen local accountability and allow neighbourhood policing to focus on problem-solving.
He also said any transition needed to be affordable, avoid temporary or long-term drops in performance and ensure resources were freed up to support frontline policing.
The commissioner added that the benefits of reform needed to extend to police officers and staff, but stressed that the ultimate aim must be better outcomes for the public.
He said: “We now await the governments specific proposals which are expected later this year and avoid speculation.”
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