Police reform and the dangers of a Mega police force

Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson said: "Over the last few days there has been a storm of media interest in police reform, prompted by a meeting of senior police leaders in Manchester last Friday, which I attended so I could hear first-hand the arguments made.  It was designed to influence the Prime Minister’s decision on how to implement police reform.  A decision is imminent, so we are told.

"Although almost everyone in the police family acknowledges the need for reform, opinion is divided about the best way to achieve it.  Most will agree that we need more investment in policing, given that we only spend 0.7% of GDP on policing, dealing with our internal security, yet we are planning to spend 3% of GDP on defence and our external security.  This means we have fewer police officers per head of population than most countries in Europe. 

"What we do spend on police is also unfairly distributed, using a funding formula that is obsolete, that fails to match resources with greatest need, and fails to reward those forces that are good at crime prevention.  These disparities mean that counties such as Gloucestershire pay far more council tax for their police than others around England. 

"Too much attention within the reform debate has been given to the issue of mergers and reducing the 43 forces in England and Wales to perhaps nine.  Although extensive collaboration already takes place across many of the 43 forces, I do support the need for a National Police Service (NPS) organisation that will bring with it order of magnitude improvements to operational and procurement planning.  The NPS should also control HR issues such as senior officer promotion and appointments, as there is a lack of cross force experience and too much “cronyism” and “nepotism” within individual forces, as the recent Leadership Commission report highlights.

"I also support the idea that Gloucestershire Constabulary – one of the smallest in the country - could have greater operational and financial resilience by merging (or at least sharing some of its enabling functions) with another, larger force.  Small forces find it hard to create the specialist teams so necessary to tackle high harm crimes such as fraud, cyber and domestic abuse, or to properly resource the teams that we currently have, such as victim support or roads policing.  But I am extremely nervous about becoming part of a mega force that covers the whole of the South West, due to the likelihood that local and neighbourhood policing could be diminished, with the drive for efficiencies leading to over centralisation in urban areas, to the detriment of overall police effectiveness, particularly in our dispersed rural communities.  

"The creation of mega forces may also fail at the first hurdle of harmonising disparate police council tax levels across multiple force areas, which is likely to be a highly unpopular initiative for the paying public. Indeed, that is what happened when stakeholders objected to previous merger proposals between Devon & Cornwall and Dorset police. That said, any merger for Gloucestershire Constabulary is expected to see a lower council tax burden for our residents, as they currently pay more per head of population than many forces.

"I have yet to see the evidence that a mega force will always be more effective at fighting crime.  Some of our smallest forces have been the best in the country - Durham, Humberside and North Yorkshire come to mind – although even these struggle to maintain that high level of performance over time and across all crime types.  I personally believe there is likely to be an optimum size bracket, say somewhere between 3K to 6K officers, plus staff.  Ten forces are already within that size bracket, with scope for smaller forces to be added.  In particular, police mergers need to be linked to local government devolution boundaries, so that there is clear governance and accountability between mayors and Chief Constables.  Without sound governance arrangements, the voice of the victim will be lost, local communities will feel unheard and abuses of power within senior police leaders is likely to increase.

"It should go without saying that the vast majority of our police service is filled with professional and brave officers, police staff and volunteers, dedicated to a life of public service, yet there has been a woeful lack of investment into their ethical leadership training.  Just 0.02% of the national police budget is spent on leadership development. Too many officers are promoted without proper training and must develop their skills ‘on the job’.  In my 30 plus years in the military, I spent about a quarter to a third of my career in leadership and educational development.  Senior police leaders spend a fraction of that time developing their leadership and management skills, despite the fact they are in a uniquely challenging profession.

"This is why over the last few years in the annual inspections of forces by His Majesty’s Inspectorate, it has reported a significant decline in performance standards and the quality of police leadership.  In the last 5 years alone, this has resulted in nine occasions when forces were placed into Special Measures (the Engage process).  Furthermore, since 2018, the behaviour of almost 50 Chief Constables has been investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, leading to at least eight having a case to answer for gross misconduct; two Chiefs have already been dismissed this year alone. 

"Such abuses of power were hardly ever identified in the days of police authorities and are a consequence of the robust governance of Police and Crime Commissioners, who for political reasons, are to be abolished from May 2028. If force mergers are not linked to devolution and mayoral boundaries, and Commissioners are replaced with weak governance arrangements, then this lack of robust accountability will be to the detriment of the police workforce and the public.  We also need to implement all the recommendations within the police reform Leadership Commission, which the Government has so far failed to grasp.

"In conclusion, with the existing pressures on the public purse, it is unlikely that police reform will get extra funding.  Therefore, the first priority must be investment in ethical police leadership training, to ensure we make best use of the money available and improve force morale, productivity and crime fighting.  Having looked closely at performance across the 43 forces, the best forces are usually the ones with the strongest leaders, with success not usually a function of force size or resources available.  Limited and proportionate mergers, particularly for small forces, with good governance and accountability linked to mayoral boundaries, make sense.  Finally, the Government should be wary of trying to reform police all at once, being clear on its priorities and sequence change accordingly, based only on sound evidence.  Not to do so risks failure, putting the safety of the public at risk.

"Whatever is decided nationally on police reform, I will always seek to act in the best interests of the residents of Gloucestershire, helping steer their local police to become better crime fighters."