Federation: “Fewer forces won't guarantee a better service”

30 January 2026

Merging police forces to create fewer ‘mega forces’ would save on administrative costs but risk losing local connection and accountability, Norfolk Police Federation has said.

This week, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans for a massive overhaul of policing that included reducing the 43 forces in England and Wales by about two thirds, in a bid to cut bureaucracy and cost.

Norfolk Police Federation Chair Andy Symonds said: “There is a bit of a postcode lottery with funding for forces at the moment, so potentially that would be better if we were part of a bigger East Anglian force. But we've also got to make sure that we don't lose local connection and accountability to the community.

“When you look at all of the most serious crimes – organised crime, terrorism, etc – when those cases come to court, you will see how they came from local intelligence and the work of local cops. And that's why it's so important that we make sure we don't lose that connection and accountability locally, if we become bigger forces.”

Andy said there were other risks in merging forces, and that “fewer forces won't guarantee a better service”.

He continued: “I don't see anywhere in the proposals that there will be any more investment in resources and people. So it will be the same amount of people trying to do the same sheer volume of work, but just named differently.

“I can see some benefits in terms of administration costs, so we don’t have lots of different HR and payroll departments that come with having 43 forces. But at the same time, we've got to look at: what does this actually do for officers’ welfare and their ability to cope with the demands they face? Is being a bigger force going to help with the demand? It won't, sadly, if there is no extra money involved or any investment into more police officers.”