No logic to police merger
SIR – Grant Shapps is right to resist a possible merger between the Herts and Beds police forces.
The usual claims are made for increased efficiency, despite the initial huge cost, but this just the standard ‘merger mantra’.
In practice the costs are achieved in full or more while the efficiencies never seem to emerge.
What usually results is an ever more top heavy organisation increasingly remote and impenetrable to the people whom it is supposed to serve.
As Mr Shapps suggests, there may be benefits in merging some of their internal services, but at the point of delivery to the public it is de-mergers we need.
You may also want to watch:
A local police team that knows the community and local issues must surely be more effective than a vast bureaucracy in some distant centre.
It is no surprise that plans of this kind usually win the support of this Labour Government whose addiction to centralism has already led to numerous top-heavy, insensitive, expensive and often unworkable schemes (East of England Plan, NHS computer system, etc).
Most Read
- 1 Planning application submitted for 173-space car park and mobile café at park
- 2 Preparation works under way for Stonehills revamp
- 3 Man suffers fractured skull and bleed on the brain after pub assault
- 4 What to do if you see these hazardous caterpillars in a park
- 5 Delight for performing arts school as song hits number one in iTunes classical charts
- 6 Mum's proud of soldier son's guard of honour role at Prince Philip's funeral
- 7 Rail passengers warned of three-day closure at London King's Cross station
- 8 'These heroes deserve a proper pay rise' - Demonstration of support for NHS workers to be held outside New QEII
- 9 NHS hired conman on £320,000 five months after he was unmasked
- 10 The latest court results for Welwyn Hatfield and Potters Bar
As an example of ‘localism’, consider how effectively we are represented by Grant Shapps who lives, and is regularly out and about, in the constituency.
Rather better than his predecessor who lived elsewhere and was rarely seen in Welwyn Hatfield – unless an election was looming.
Paul Telco,
Address supplied.