Opposition to proposed merger of West Mercia and West Midlands Police

Liberal Democrats in Worcestershire are opposing the Government’s police reform proposals and question the need to centralise power into Birmingham. The Government's proposals would see the existing 43 police forces in England being reduced to 12. This would result in West Mercia merging with the urban forces of the West Midlands. 

While the government is indicating that these changes will lead to a more efficient police force, there are huge concerns that resources will be centralised into urban areas, with rural crime and neighbourhood policing being sacrificed. 

Liberal Democrats believe that local policing works best when it is rooted in the communities it serves. A force covering both rural Worcestershire and central Birmingham faces fundamentally different demands, and a one-size-fits-all approach risks failing both.

The previous attempt at a ”Strategic Alliance" between the police forces of West Mercia and Warwickshire, later collapsed, citing how the “Alliance” impacted decisions on the delivery of local policing, eventually costing £10 million to leave the arrangement.

Other mergers of public services rarely benefit residents. The creation of large regional ambulance trusts, including the West Midlands Ambulance Service, was sold on similar promises of coordination and efficiency. Yet the service has faced persistent failures in response times, and rightly, staff morale has collapsed. Worcestershire residents have experienced this first-hand. Policing carries similar risks, and these proposals will leave our rural communities even more at risk.

A consultation is currently being undertaken by the Police and Crime Commissioner's office.