Stamer indicates he favours trimming down number of police forces

Sir Keir Starmer has indicated he favours reducing the number of police forces in England and Wales.

The Government is expected to soon publish a white paper aimed at overhauling the 43 police forces in England and Wales for the future.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has already signalled she believes the way police are organised is “irrational” and warned of disparities in how they carry out their services.

Several newspapers have in recent weeks suggested that the number of police forces could be cut from the current 43 to somewhere between 12 and 15, though Home Office sources have steered away from the suggestions.

Speaking at the Liaison Committee on Monday, the Prime Minister however signalled he was supportive of “rationalising” police forces.

Initially, he refused to comment to the committee of senior MPs about the Government’s plans when asked if he believed there were too many police forces.

But pressed by Dame Meg Hillier, Labour chairwoman of the Liaison Committee, Sir Keir spoke about his experience as the director of public prosecutions, when he “reduced the number of CPS areas from 42 to 13”.

Speaking about police forces, he added: “No decisions have been made about this yet. But are there some functions that could be across forces? Yes, I think there probably are. And where that’s been possible, it’s worked well.

“Are there some areas, such as the uniforms, the police cars, that could be better looked at across a number of forces? Yes, I absolutely think there are.

“So I’m up for rationalising it, but no decision on what the final configuration or some type has been arrived at in relation to that.”

Police and Crime Commissioners

Ministers have already shaken up the organisation of police forces, announcing in November they would scrap Police and Crime Commissioners, the elected regional officials who oversee policing, in a bid to save public cash.

Speaking last month at the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners summit in Westminster, Ms Mahmood suggested the Government wanted to go further.

She said: “The structure of our police forces is, if we are honest, irrational.”

Critical functions like the national police air service and vetting have been loaded onto local forces, drawing their attention away from neighbourhood policing, she added.

The Home Secretary also warned “disparities in performance” of policing across the country meant there was a postcode lottery in the service different areas received.