Community Policing At Risk In Proposed 'Super Forces'

17 February 2026

If the Government cuts the number of police forces to create fewer ‘super forces’, it could reduce the amount of vital local community policing, Surrey Police Federation has said.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a massive overhaul of policing that includes cutting the number of forces in England and Wales by about two thirds, as well as creating a new National Police Service (NPS) to fight the most complex cross-border crime.

Darren Pemble, Chair of Surrey Police Federation, said: “The Government’s white paper looks at creating fewer ‘super forces’. But bigger is not always better, and many are concerned that larger forces will reduce the local community policing that underpins our policing values.

“The problems that arose with the Police Scotland merger show that the Government should proceed with caution. As should the NHS Ambulance Trust mergers, which have led to some significant issues with service delivery.

“To enable any such change, policing needs significant investment across the board, with IT systems that can talk to each other. We would also like to see national procurement for policing, which would make significant savings.”

He continued: “We are currently managing year-on-year shrinking budgets, which makes policing a lottery, as difficult decisions are being taken on what we can deliver. The public is losing out, and this is not fair.

“We continually argue that police funding needs urgent reform – it should be funded in full from central Government, not covered by our council tax precepts. We hope that the Government will address this police funding gap.”