New Chief Constable Confirms - There Will be NO Merger

I have just emerged from a meeting with the new Chief Constable of Bedfordshire, Alf Hitchcock, who confirmed that merger plans with Hertfordshire (or anywhere else) are 'dead.' We of course had excellent news last year when the bid to merge the forces was blocked after Home Office intervention, but to hear the leadership of the Force itself, which had been heavily in favour of merging, rule it out categorically is fantastic for all of us who have campaigned to save our local police force.

Had Bedfordshire Police been swallowed up in a merger with the much larger Herts Force, we would have been at real risk of seeing policing priorities shift south to major population centres as far away as down inside the M25. Being at the northern point of a new, hugely expanded force, could have seen the police become less responsive to local needs here in Bedford Borough, while at a time of budget cuts for the police, we want as big a say as possible locally in how resources are allocated, not a smaller, diluted one!

During our campaign against the merger of forces, I acknowledged the significant savings that the force has to make; after all, I am well-placed to understand their predicament, having presided over a rigorous, ongoing efficiency drive to achieve the vast savings we have made in order to protect frontline services since I became Mayor. I approached the Police early on, and made clear that the Police Force should seek efficiencies by working in partnership with not only other forces, but also other public sector bodies including Bedford Borough Council. They showed little enthusiasm at the time, but I was greatly encouraged to the very positive approach to such joint working in order to save taxpayers' money which the new Chief Constable outlined tonight.

Cabinet colleagues and I also covered a range of other important issues around local policing with Chief Constable Hitchcock. I was very pleased to hear of the ongoing commitment of the police to the system of neighbourhood policing, and retention of that local, neighbourhood level service which is truly responsive to the needs of local communities and is best placed to tackle crime and disorder, not to mention the fear of crime. He made a pledge that there will be no cuts in this area, and that is to be welcomed.

Other issues raised with the Chief Constable were the importance of effective speeding enforcement, rural policing and joint working to tackle so-called low-level offences such as littering. I look forward to working with the Chief Constable on these and other areas, as we work together to drive down crime and disorder.