UK Police Amalgamations.

[JohnKelly]

I've posted this under a new Thread, to break away from the "Wow Thread".

I find Sgt Lobster's comments in the "Wow Thread" about UK Police Forces and their boundaries interesting, because I have always wondered if it is inevitable that eventually the UK will have one National Police Force.

My understanding is the all UK Police Forces/Constabularies are administered by the Home Office and all have standardised procedures and training etc. Scotland Yard provides the Specialist Investigation Units on a national basis, so the infastructure is already in place.

Has there ever been a proposal/discussion to amalgamate all of these Police Forces/Constabularies into one Force with one name, under one Commissioner, or alternatively create one Police Force for each Country within the UK, as exists in Northern Ireland.

Two Forces that immediately come to my mind that surely must be ripe for amalgamation and that would be the London City Police with the London Metropolitan Police.

Just as a matter of interest, about 3 years ago I was visiting Windsor Castle and I noticed Units from The Thames Valley Police patrolling the nearby Town but when I entered Windsor Castle I noticed that the Foot Patrol Units were from The Met. I spoke to one of the Constables and asked him, how come The Met was patrolling inside the castle and Thames Valley was patrolling the outside of the castle and his reply was that The Met had the responsibility of protecting The Royal Family.

Interesting stuff.

Cheers,

[Sgt Lobster]

John,

A very topical issue. At the start of the 1960s there were over 120 separate police forces in England & wales, but by the end of the decade the number had been reduced to less than 50. As a result of local government re-organisation we ended up with the existing 43 on 01/04/74. Scotland acquired 8 regional forces the following year, and Northern Ireland has been policed by the RUC GC now PSNI since partition in 1921.

Ever since I joined the police over 20 years ago, we have had talk about national or regional forces. With the prospect of regional government in England it is once more high on the agenda. There have also been calls from the Welsh Assembly to take over control of policing in Wales, which could lead to one force for the country.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have different judicial systems to England & Wales so would remain separate whatever happened in England & Wales.

English & Welsh forces ultimately come under the control of the Home Office, Scottish and the PSNI come under their respective Secretaries of State. Whilst there is a lot of standardisation and control from the Home Office and Central Government, each UK police force is an 'independent' entity with its' own Chief Officer, who is supposed to be independent from the Government.

The Met does have some national functions e.g. Royalty protection hence you get their bobbies in Windsor Castle whilst the town itself is policed by the local force Thames Valley Police.

The City of London is a separate political unit from the rest of London. As far as I am aware the City is completely independent of the London Boroughs contained within the Greater London Authority area which now corresponds with the Metropolitan Police District. I believe the City has resisted all attempts to incorporate it into the rest of London, or to do away with its' institutions such as the City of London Police.

Whether regionalisation or a nation force would offer any advantages is however a very moot point. Some would argue we are moving towards a national force by the backdoor anyway, as we have a very interventionist Central Government.





Lobster.