Police merger 'not on cards' says commissioner

Commissioner Sarah Taylor said she did not believe the government planned to merge Norfolk and Suffolk's police forces

A police and crime and commissioner said she doubted two forces would be merged - as she announced her job was coming to an end.

Labour's Sarah Taylor – who won the election to become Norfolk's commissioner last year – said the role's responsibilities would be transferred to a new mayor's office in 2027.

With the planned mayor responsible for Norfolk and Suffolk, there has been speculation that the county's two police forces could be combined.

But Taylor said her understanding was that a merger was "not on the cards at all".

Last month, Conservative MP Nick Timothy said he believed a merger would take place and it would be a "disaster".

West Suffolk MP Nick Timothy said he "vehemently opposed" the two forces merging

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are elected officials responsible for setting the priorities of a constabulary, appointing a chief constable and holding them to account.

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

After the government confirmed it wanted the PCC roles to be absorbed into the work of mayors, the West Suffolk MP Timothy said he thought that would lead to one force covering two counties.

"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."

Some parts of Suffolk and Norfolk's police forces have been working alongside each other for years

Whilst the two forces are separate they do currently work together on some operations such as roads policing and armed deployments.

Taylor said she had asked the Home Office if a merger was a possibility.

She said: "My understanding is that is not on the cards at all, and certainly if it is, they're not talking with us about that transition period."

"As to whether that should happen I'm fairly agnostic about it.

"I know that would give us a similar level of population of somewhere like North Yorkshire, or Devon and Cornwall – and certainly they seem to work well in that setup.

"I don't see a particular reason why that would be detrimental to the service within Norfolk."

PCCs serve four year terms in office, but with major changes being made to local government, Taylor said her's would end on 1 April 2027 – less than three years after she was elected.

"This will mean that I'm not only Labour's first Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk, but I will also be Norfolk's shortest serving Police and Crime Commissioner."

She added that her "primary focus" was to make sure services were not affected whilst work took place transferring the role's responsibility to a mayor.

"I think it's fair to say the nuts and bolts of this will need to be worked through," she added.

The Home Office said the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, currently going through Parliament, allowed for "two police forces to be overseen by one mayor but, in that scenario, the forces would remain distinct entities".