Corrupt Police?

There is a good deal of anxiety nowadays about police corruption in the UK as a consequence of numerous scandals, miscarriages of justice, inquiries and revelations. At the heart of all this lies the way the police service is organised in England. Almost every county has its own force, to which are added the big forces of the major cities, topped off by the Metropolitan Police, which is presently the most scandal hit of the lot. There is nothing worse in a free society than lack of trust in the police, and this is a problem requiring the utmost urgency in its solution.

It does not follow that many police officers are corrupt. Only a tiny handful is. The issue is the complicated sphere of responsibilities which the police service now has to shoulder, which are so very different to the world of the past in which the foundations of the current structures were laid. These are too unwieldy with too many departments overlapping. Order is maintained by process rather than leadership, because with so many specialisations, leadership is diffused. There are also too many forces. County borders are not recognised by criminals.

The solution lies in reducing the number of forces not by area, but by function. There should be a Community Police Service responsible for crime prevention and order in the community. Next there should be a Community Crime Service to investigate low level crime. The NCA should remain to deal with organised crime and Special Branch also, to deal with national security. Finally there must be a National Traffic Police Force, in the same way as we already have British Transport Police to cover public travel. Each of these six forces would be ultimately responsible to the Home Secretary and led nationally, but all should also have local command and liaison with the communities in which they operate.

At the moment there are nearly forty police forces in England each trying to do more or less everything. It is no longer a structure fit for modern purpose. We need specialist forces focused on what they do, which is done well to a high degree of public satisfaction.

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