THAMES VALLEY POLICE is considering a possible restructure of its area districts that could see the number shrink from 11 to five.
Under the plan, West Berkshire, Wokingham and Bracknell, and Reading would be merged into one operational area.
The proposals were discussed at a Reading Borough Council policy committee meeting on Monday, January 23.
Cllr Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey), lead councillor for community safety, said that she was privy to a ‘workforce review notification’ in autumn last year. The consultation is not currently open to the public.
She raised concerns about how policing could be affected in Reading if the restructure takes place.
“This will see us share a larger police for with both Wokingham and Newbury areas where the crimes and the sort of crimes that happen there are vastly different from what happens here,” she said.
“Fighting for police to attend concerns in Reading, which currently has the second highest serious crime rate in the Thames Valley, in a town that records the highest levels of serious violence in Berkshire would be concerning to us in such a new allocation.”
She said she wanted more details about how the structure would work, and whether it was a cost cutting measure, also questioned where the moving of the Thames Valley Police headquarters to Atlantic House in Whitley fits into that restructure.
In response, Thames Valley Police’s Chief Constable (CC) John Campbell said: “The review is about how we are generally delivering policing services.
“On a local level, the numbers aren’t affected, but you are starting to take out command functions and structures. At the moment, we’re in a place where we need to review to see how we’re delivering general policing service.
“On top of that we do have to look at saving £21 million, and I can’t get around that in order to balance my budget I’ve got to look at what I can do.”
No decisions on new policing areas have been made yet, and any changes will be subject to a consultation.
CC Campbell added: “Ironically, the five areas is the structure that we had in 2010.”
Earlier in the meeting, Cllr Rowland thanked CC Campbell for his service, as he is due to retire. He will be suceeded by his deputy, Jason Hogg.
A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said that a review on restructuring local policing areas are in embryonic stages: “We are currently reviewing the structure of our force. We last did this 12 years ago, and since then policing has seen growing demand and a greater focus on vulnerability, prevention and digital crime.
“We also have more people living in our area than ever before, with the recent census showing a 10% increase since 2011.
“Assessing our structure now will help us spot potential opportunities to drive long-term improvements for the benefit of our staff, our partners and the public. We are still in the early stages of this review and are currently talking to our workforce and partner organisations to get their thoughts.
“No decision has been made on any structural changes at present and we will look to share further information on the review with our communities in due course.”
