Dorset police merger debate taken to the public

The Devon & Cornwall force already shares helicopter operations with Dorset

Two chief constables are calling on the public to discuss plans for their police forces to merge.

The bosses of Devon & Cornwall and Dorset Police have been progressing with merger plans since September last year.

The move has been described as "the only way forward" amid "significant funding challenges".

Police and crime commissioners from both regions have now launched a public survey.

The two forces set up a "strategic alliance" in 2015 in a bid to save £12m and they hope the merger will go through by 2020.

A report to the Dorset Police and Crime Panel on Tuesday revealed Dorset Police had overspent its pay and overtime budget for police officers by nearly £3.5m, or 5.2%, in the past financial year.

'Public mandate'

Chief Constable James Vaughan told the panel the force was likely to exceed its budget limits again in the current financial year but the possible merger with Devon & Cornwall Police was among the ways it could make savings.

The public survey will be used in the final business case the two forces take to the Home Office in the autumn.

If backed it would be the first merger of English constabularies since the current 43-force structure was established, creating the fifth largest police force in the country.

Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly said: "While there are clearly advantages to such a merger, the proposals would have widespread implications for policing and the way it is funded.

"I think it is vitally important that any merger has a clear public mandate."

The survey will run until 27 August.