If you started again with a clean slate, a blank sheet of paper, you would never design a system of policing like this.
It’s a system – in England and Wales – where there are 43 ‘territorial’ forces. No matter how big or small, each force has its own leadership structure, specialist units and support functions, such as finance, vetting and human resources. For instance, there’s Warwickshire constabulary with just 1,126 officers, and neighbouring West Midlands Police, with 8,000. They work together at times, but they are led, managed and organised in separate ways.
The most glaring discrepancies are in the capital. The Metropolitan Police, which has 34,315 officers, is 34 times larger in terms of personnel than City of London Police, with only 995 officers. But the Met and City both have their own commissioners, senior officer teams and crime investigation departments, not to mention their own uniforms and liveried vehicles.
Add to the 43 forces a range of other organisations, such as the British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and National Crime Agency, as well as cross-border regional units which tackle serious and organised crime, and the policing picture becomes even fuzzier.
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