Northumbria and Durham Police in merger talks

Remember police mergers?

The idea was big around five years ago.

The Labour government of the time argued mergers could be more efficient and make forces more effective in tackling organised crime and terrorism.

It got ditched though by the then-Home Secretary John Reid after howls of protest from forces and communities around the country.

There was much opposition in Cleveland in particular to plans to merge the force with their counterparts in Northumbria and Durham.

But now it appears the merger may be back in fashion.

This time though it's the forces themselves that may be putting it back on the agenda.

And in a way that's not surprising.

Despite the protests, some forces were keen on the idea.

Cumbria and Lancashire were disappointed when their merger plans were called off.

And despite Cleveland's qualms, Northumbria and Durham did see merits in coming together.

Since the merger has come off, they have begun co-operating with each other to save money.

But yesterday Durham's Chief Constable revealed that a merger was an option that was now being considered once more.

I've been speaking to the Durham Police Authority Chairman Peter Thompson, who's confirmed that.

He revealed that talks first began at the start of the year.

But any decision is some way off. A report will be prepared for October, and he nsists a merger will only go ahead if the report shows it would be in the best interests of both forces, and both communities.

You can see why it might be attractive.

The new Government has already imposed cuts of more than £8m on our forces this year.

Northumbria has to save £3.5m, Durham £1.3m, Cleveland £1.3m, North Yorkshitre £1.1m and Cumbria £1m.

And that may just be the start.

Policing could face more cuts in Autumn's Comprehensive Spending Review, as unlike health and international development, it's not been protected by the coalition.

But of course there will be costs as well as savings involved in mergers, so they'll need to be studied closely.

The City of Durham MP Roberta Blackman-Woods does believe the idea has merit though, if it can protect front-line policing from cuts.

But what of Cleveland?

I've also been to see their Police Authority Chairman, Dave McLuckie.

He was one of the fiercest opponents of the North East superforce idea, and says he would still oppose merging with both Northumbria and Durham.

But he wouldn't rule out a merger with a single neighbouring force, and pointed out that Cleveland already does co-operate with Durham and other constabularies.

I hasten to say he also warned it could be a long way off.

But these are the realities of the financial situation the public sector now finds itself in.

We'll be debating cuts and mergers on the Politics Show at 11am on Sunday on BBC1.

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