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Background

Every police authority and force in England and Wales has been directed by the Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, to look at the creation of ‘strategic police forces’ in order to improve nationally the delivery of protective services.

This follows the publication of the Home Office report ‘Closing the Gap – A Review of the fitness for purpose of the current structure of policing in England and Wales’ which examined whether the present police structure is able to meet the challenges posed by the current and future policing needs.

Hampshire Police Authority and Hampshire Constabulary submitted a joint proposal to the Home Office on 28 October outlining the options it felt were most viable for the future of policing in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The three options recommended were

1. Hampshire to stand alone as a strategic force
2. Hampshire to merge with Dorset and Wiltshire
3. Hampshire to merge with Dorset

The Home Office feedback said that looking outside the South East region was not an option. The report back also said that currently the Home Office does not feel there was strong evidence that Hampshire could stand alone as a strategic force because it does not meet the criteria of 4,000 officers – even though it is one of the country’s largest forces with 3,803 officers and is looking to take on more than 500 new Police Community Support Officers over the next few years taking it over the 4,000 benchmark.

The Home Office has directed police authorities and forces in the South East to look further at five options:

1. Two strategic forces
1. Kent, Surrey and Sussex
2. Thames Valley and Hampshire
2. Three strategic forces
1. Kent
2. Thames Valley
3. Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire
3. Three strategic forces
1. Kent, Surrey and Sussex
2. Thames Valley
3. Hampshire (stand-alone)
4. Three strategic forces
1. Kent and Sussex
2. Thames Valley
3. Hampshire and Surrey
5. Four strategic forces
1. Kent
2. Thames Valley
3. Surrey and Sussex
4. Hampshire (stand-alone)

Hampshire Police Authority and Hampshire Constabulary were very disappointed with the Home Office options and have decided to focus on two options identified by the authority and constabulary as those that will best serve the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Preferred option - Hampshire standing alone as a strategic force (3.3/5.4)

If Hampshire has to merge - Hampshire merging with Dorset and Wiltshire.

Definitions

‘Protective services’ are defined as counter terrorism and domestic extremism, serious organised and cross-border crime, civil contingencies and emergency planning, critical incident management, public order and strategic roads policing.

Strategic force - HMIC considers a force with more than 4,000 officers or a total of 6,000 staff as having the critical mass to provide the necessary level of protective services and therefore a strategic force.