Police may face major shake-up to save cash

SIXTY per cent of police services in Yorkshire could be regionalised to save money in a move which could radically change how forces operate.

Consultants have completed an analysis of the region's four forces which concludes the only service which should be guaranteed to remain in its present form is neighbourhood policing, the bobbies and PCSOs who serve communities directly.

That could mean many, or all, of the expensive and highly-specialised units such as firearms officers and underwater search teams, being removed from the control of individual constabularies.

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Controversially, the future of the four forces' command and control centres are also to be assessed. If regionalised, it could see callers contacting police many miles away in a different part of the region when they need help.

That could mean staff with no geographical knowledge of the area dealing with urgent requests for assistance on the 999 system.

A similar scheme to regionalise the fire service's control rooms has been dogged by expense and technical problems, with some in the industry now doubting whether they will be introduced even though the buildings have been constructed, including one in Wakefield.

Regional programme director for joint policing in Yorkshire, Chief Supt Geoff Dodd, said there would be an examination of the "opportunities technology provides us" in terms of a large-scale 999 calls centre but it would mean "balancing that against public confidence".

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"What are the benefits if you don't have four command and control centres?" he added. "Do you lose, or improve?"

Some of the areas to be discussed as a result of the examination involve internal police administrative services and the duplication of work between forces.

For example, it may be possible to move from paper to electronic documents for some file preparation work, with the costs of a new system reduced to a cost-effective level if all four make the switch at the same time.

Results of the analysis, done by consultants Deloitte, have been made available to all staff before they are made public because they could have implications for some jobs and working arrangements.

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Work to regionalise some elements of policing has advanced in this region since plans to halve the country's number of forces were announced in 2005 and later scrapped.

A roads policing team has proved highly successful and a new crime unit to put further pressure on criminals who work across force boundaries is expected to reap similar results.

Original plans to merge forces were provoked in part by the weaknesses exposed in smaller forces by the Soham inquiry. They became politically unpopular and were later dropped.

The benefits of closer working were recognised in Yorkshire and the forces continued with some elements of that work.

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Nationally there are already plans to change the way police helicopters and other aircraft are operated, to give better coverage with available resources.

Today's proposals for regional working are driven by a desire to save money with police expecting severe spending restrictions in the next few years.

There is no suggestion of a full merger between the forces, meaning each would retain its chief constable.

All are said to been keenly in favour of developments which save money while preserving important services.

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Humberside Chief Constable Tim Hollis said: "The Home Secretary says they want to be radical and reforming. They say they are not looking for compulsory mergers, but they do support voluntary mergers.

"They are keen on joint working, particularly where it generates additional cash. We are having to look very closely about what we value in policing and what communities want."

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