Police merger reprieve welcomed

5.23.46pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 21st Mar 2006

Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne welcomed the announcement from the Home Office that Hampshire Constabulary would not be required to merge with another police force.

Mr Huhne, who had opposed any merger in the House of Commons debate pointing out that Hampshire was the third most effective constabulary in the country, said that Home Secretary Charles Clarke had recognised that if it isn't broken, you should not fix it.

"Hampshire is an effective force with the thirteenth lowest police precept of all the 43 police authorities in England and Wales. Any merger would have added substantially to council tax payers bills by as much as a fifth" he said.

"This is a victory for common sense and for the campaign that the Hampshire MPs have waged to keep the police force independent. As the Home Office now recognises, Hampshire is quite big enough - at just fewer than 4,000 staff - to be a strategic force in its own right".

"In most public services, small is beautiful. Some of the best police services in terms of investigation and clear-up rates are the smallest, while London's Metropolitan Police is the biggest and also the worst".