Without doubt these new proposed amalgamations will lead to a loss of local knowledge.
We will have a national police force and a number of regional police forces. Who will hold governance over them, and raise taxes to pay for them? The Labour Government has not yet said.
The Conservative Party has been “weighed in the balance and found wanting”. And now, like Belshazzar of old, their time is passing. Britain needs a new party to drive the radical change this country needs.
Like Powell, the left wing barristers are haunted by the spectre of the majority, native population of Britain turning nasty in the face of mass immigration.
Even the most dedicated and skilled police force – as Leicestershire Police clearly is – can’t do the job if they don’t have the right tools.
Using the Star Chamber approach I, as elected representative of the taxpayers, will have a firm grip on where the money goes and on what it is spent.
The left-wing politicisation of the police continues. And far from objecting, the Chief Constables are actively collaborating.
We have delivered on the 2019 election promise to recruit 20,000 additional police officers. Crime is going down. The police are being given the equipment and kit that they need to do their job properly.
In one of our market towns, 80 per cent of drug county lines have been closed down in six months by our excellent police. Drug-driven shoplifting has nosedived.
I have set up an Ethics and Transparency Panel of stop and search across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. That gives me the confidence that they are carried out in line with intelligence-led policing.
We have found a way to reduce the demand on police time from mental health episodes. It is now time to look at other demands on the police and see how they can be reduced – or how the costs can be recouped in full.
We need visible policing to deter criminals, neighbourhood policing to support local residents and businesses; putting resources where they will make the most difference.
I was determined to maintain police officer numbers at 2,242 full time equivalents. To afford that has meant cutting the number of other staff.
As this marvellous city prepares for Diwali, I trust leaders and communities will come together to extinguish the hostility and tension which have darkened the last few weeks.
As Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire, I urge that Parliament be recalled so we can properly scrutinise how the Government respond to their first major crisis.