Merging police forces 'vehemently opposed' by MP

Some parts of Suffolk and Norfolk's police forces already work together

An MP said he "vehemently opposed" the idea of two neighbouring police forces merging.

The chair of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) said having fewer forces would lead to improved services.

The government has announced it would be looking at whether new mayors should take on the powers of multiple police and crime commissioners (PCC) but has not commented on the idea of combining forces.

However, West Suffolk Conservative MP Nick Timothy believed the Suffolk and Norfolk forces were being considered for a possible merger and warned this would be a "disaster".

In 2006 there were proposals to combine Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk's constabularies but it did not happen.

Some police services in Suffolk and Norfolk were combined in 2010 but plans to merge their control rooms were scrapped in 2014.

The two counties currently have their own PCCs but their forces do work together on some operations such as roads policing and armed deployments.

An election is set to take place in May 2026 to choose the first mayor to run a new combined authority for the counties.

Timothy wrote to the government asking whether there are plans to transfer powers from PCCs to new mayors covering multiple forces.

He said: "I vehemently oppose any merger between the two police forces because it would take decision-making and accountability even further away from where people live.

"We need the police really focused on local crimes, on burglaries, on street crime, and that means we need local accountability."

Tim Passmore said combining the two forces would be a "huge challenge"

Suffolk PCC Tim Passmore, who is running to be the Conservative candidate in the mayoral election, said he believed the mayor would eventually take on the powers of the PCC.

He said he did not support a merger "at this stage" and the size of the counties combined would cause logistical problems.

Mr Passmore said a merger would have to be "demonstrably better than the status quo, otherwise it's a complete waste of time".

NPCC Chair Gavin Stephens said: "A smaller number of police forces supported by a national policing organisation would enable us to make decisions far quicker and maximise funding to invest in technology and our workforce."

Darren Harris from the Suffolk Police Federation said he did not believe any merger would be likely this parliament but the organisation was "very interested" in following devolution plans.

"There is a question to whether the current policing model is fit for purpose but there are too many unknowns at the moment," he added.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.

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