MERGER OF POLICE FORCES IN EASTERN ENGLAND

Early day motion 1010, tabled 14 November 2005 by Bob Spink (Conservative). Signed by 16 members.

That this House accepts the need for effective and efficient policing and the benefits that can sometimes flow from achieving economies of scale, but believes that this needs to be balanced with the need to prevent the possible politicisation of the police and for close identification of police forces with the communities they serve; believes that the Government's proposed merger of existing forces without regard for patterns of crime or local identity is a retrograde and dangerous step; and considers that the public consultation prior to the arbitrary rejection of Essex remaining a separate police force has been inadequate and that the alternatives for the region provide an unacceptable and dangerous solution for policing the communities of Eastern England.

Signatures by party: Conservative 10, DUP 3, Liberal Democrat 3.