Badge up new single police force to keep local identity, urges House

A NEW national police force could badge patrol cars with the name of their local town or city, Scotland’s leading officer has suggested, in a bid to dampen concerns that the move will centralise policing.

Stephen House, the chief constable of Strathclyde, said he backed moves to merge the country’s eight forces into one, as part of a long-term cost-cutting measure.

With critics warning that the local link to communities will be lost, Mr House said that patrol cars could be branded as “Glasgow City Police” or “Edinburgh City Police”, to maintain a symbolic tie to the area.

He also scotched claims by critics that the reorganisation will end up costing money rather than saving it, insisting that the reforms would reduce bureaucracy while giving forces the best change to maintain record numbers of police.

Mr House was speaking as ministers prepare for the controversial move, which is bitterly opposed by local government leaders on the grounds it will fracture the link between the police and elected councillors.

They also argue that the reorganisation will end up costing more money, and distract forces at a time when crime is falling.

Critics of the plans also claim that the move to a single force has been deliberately leaked by ministers to convince sceptics in other forces that the proposal is a done-deal. Rural police chiefs have made it clear they oppose the move.

But Mr House repeated his support for the plans yesterday, saying it was the best option in the current financial climate.

“Budgets are going to get cut. At the moment we have 17,234 police officers in Scotland, give or take. There is no way that eight police forces will be able to sustain that number.”

He added: “If you have a single force, you still wouldn’t get 17,234 but you will get considerably more because you will be spending less on infrastructure. I think the population of this country would like to have operational police officers rather than infrastructure. I don’t care what anyone says, it costs money.”

On keeping policing local, he said junior officers would still remain in their home area. He added: “I would say you’re quite right to emphasis neighbours policing neighbours, and it should say ‘Glasgow city police’ and ‘Edinburgh city police’ [on police cars]. You would emphasis the localism of it.”

However, local government leaders said they remained adamantly opposed to the measures. Pat Watters, president of Cosla, the body representing local authorities, said: “The government should be focusing on bobbies not boundaries. Redrawing the map could be the very thing that prevents the necessary efficiencies being achieved and takes the police off our streets.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said concerns over centralisation would be addressed in the proposals when they are published next month.

She said: “Maintaining and strengthening links between our police and communities and empowering commanders to improve local policing should be clear priorities – and these plans will be at the heart of our ambitious proposals”.