Police force merger: Sir Mark Rowley's super-force idea misses the real problem with policing
Sir Mark Rowley, the country’s most senior police chief, it must first be said, is a man who has dedicated himself to tackling crime in the pursuit of protecting members of the public.
It is no exaggeration to assert that his contribution to national security, particularly in his role as the head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, is a significant one.
Equally, it is not hyperbole to suggest that in his charge as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police is a police force that is borderline impossible to manage.
Its officers are faced with enormous scale and complexity, from the attritional grind of structurally embedded petty crime to some of the world’s most sophisticated organised crime cartels.
Add to that the challenges highlighted in Baroness Casey’s review of the operational failings inside the Met Police, from institutional racism and misogyny to bullying and harassment.
Juxtaposed against the material fact that national expenditure on policing has fallen from 0.9 per cent of GDP to 0.6 per cent of GDP, it is not unreasonable to calculate that community safety in policing terms is not as high a priority as it once was.
In short, it is little wonder that Sir Mark feels under pressure and in need of a little help. You will be hard-pressed to find a Chief Constable that does not feel the same way.
However, the consolidation of the country's 43 police forces into a handful of super-forces is not the solution. The solution is properly-funded, well-resourced local constabularies led by talented police chiefs who know and care about their communities.