Bone question, and maybe it has been covered before, but would there be any advantage in having a 'Police England' in the same way as Police Scotland and the PSNI? There are 43 police forces in England & Wales, each with a Chief Constable, DCC, several dozen ACPO level people etc etc etc.
There may (and I don't know definitively) be parallels in when the Army had a reorg and went from the old style Royal Scots / RHF / Black Watche etc to 1, 2 3, 4 SCOTS etc. Might give you better manouevrability on posting people, save a few quid on trg establishments etc etc?
Back in 2006 it was mooted to merge West Mercia, Warwickshire, Staffs and West Mids forces. Public opinion killed it at birth and anecdotally one of the main drivers of opposition was resourcing.
To clarify; X constabulary has 2500 odd cops, serves 1.1 million people covering three counties and has three main population centres, these centres being allocated officer numbers proportionately. Any need for more officers in say, Birmingham, like in 2011 has to be thrashed out mutually and other forces give what they can.
If we now have the Greater Fulchester Constabulary containing three or four predecessor forces, you will not have the sum of those officers numbers. "Efficiencies" will see retiring officers not replaced to probably around 80 - 90% of before. All these officers are now controlled centrally. To put it in real world terms, a Regional Midlands force comprising the forces above will in reality be West Mids Police +, controlled from and for the greater West Midlands conurbation.
When all the crime and disorder occurs in two or three centres of this super force, that's where all the money and bods will go; if you live in a rural part of Herefordshire or Shropshire and your getting your diesel or farm kit rinsed by a certain demographic, you've got two hopes because all the moneys going on yardies in Brum.
This has also been seen by West Mids Ambulance Service; previously they were Staffs, Hereford/Worcester and West Mids. Resources were ring fenced, now an amby from Kidderminster or Redditch etc., will end up taking a patient to the QE or Heartlands (trauma centres of excellence etc.). Once they show available after dropping off the punter, they ping up as the next closest wagon to an RTC/Stroke/Stabbing in Selly Oak. So off they go and now they're caught up in the never ending maelstrom of centralised resources.
That's why you have stories like this
Will Hope: Swinton Lions forward angry at ambulance wait after serious injury
Its not right but as someone once said, more can be done with less....