Policing model 'no longer fit for purpose'

The current policing model is "no longer fit for purpose", an MP has warned, after an overhaul of the system was announced last month.

Sureena Brackenridge, Labour MP for Wolverhampton, said police officers were currently tackling "21st Century crimes under a 19th Century model" and reform was needed to "move resources into front line policing".

Home Office reforms include a new National Police Service (NPS) to fightcomplex cross-border crime and a reduction in the number of local forces in England and Wales by about two-thirds.

Brackenridge said that "complex issues" in Wolverhampton, covered by West Midlands Police, such as county line drugs gangs "didn't stop at county line borders".

"What we've got is fractured and scattered resources across the country and this is going to help free up forces to focus on local policing needs," she told BBC's Politics Midlands.

The proposals mean forces in Staffordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia could be merged with others or joined up with West Midlands Police to create a Midlands "mega-force".

As part of the changes, the Home Office is also funding 40 more Live Facial Recognition vans after the technology proved successful in South Wales and London, making them available in all parts of England and Wales.

Home Secretary and Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood has called the police and crime commissioner (PCC) system "a failed experiment" and said their office costs could be better spent.

In November, the government said PCCs were to be scrapped in England and Wales to save £100m over this parliament's term.

Asked if he felt like a failed experiment, Staffordshire Conservative police, fire and crime commissioner Ben Adams said "absolutely not".

He added: "I'm really pleased we've seen crime numbers continue to reduce, particularly neighbourhood crime, burglary, things of that nature.

"The chances of being physically assaulted are way, way down on decades ago. Unfortunately [there's been] a lot more crime online.

"I think some of the proposals go in the right direction in terms of let's get the technology, the standards across the country to tackle what crime is today rather than what it was 60 years ago."

Adams stated he would expect some economies of scale by having larger forces "particularly around investment in IT and so on".

He added that "if you've got mega forces, 43 to 10, that's a big difference".

"Are places like Leek, are places in Worcestershire, West Mercia, Warwickshire, Gloucester going to get the attention that the cities have got?"

Residents in smaller towns and villages have raised concerns about the lack of local police stations in the area, according to Worcestershire County Councillor David Taylor.

He said he was worried about the "lack of transparency" surrounding the new policing model but hoped there would be benefits such as shared intelligence.

"Having these super centres, you're more likely to have resource sucked into areas. People want to see local [police officers], they want to be able to contact their local bobby," Taylor added.

The Reform councillor said people were concerned about the lack of consequences for anti-social behaviour, theft and burglary, and there hadn't been improvements made.

"I had a poll on Facebook and the same concerns that people had this year were the same concerns they had 10 years ago," he said.

Home Office sources said reducing the number of forces will not make policing less local, and its focus is on reducing duplication and the huge disparities in performance between forces.

National Police Chiefs' Council chairman Gavin Stephen said having a national police service in the form of the NPS would consolidate money and decision making, and was "really important".

"You've got rapidly changing new technologies which show huge promise, then you can't get them rolled out because there are too many decision makers in the system," he said.

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