Following Government announcements which state that their plans for
enforced police mergers are "dead in the water", Michael Fabricant is
now suggesting a voluntary re-alignment of police forces in the
midlands.

"I have always opposed the absorption of Staffordshire Police into the
West Midlands" says Michael. "I am relieved that the merger will not
now proceed and I do not share the disappointment of some senior
Staffordshire Police officers. A merger with the West Midlands force
would have inevitably lead to already scarce police resources being
drawn from rural areas into trouble spots of the greater Birmingham
conurbation.

"However, there is nothing to stop the Staffordshire Police Service from
cooperating with the West Midlands and other police forces in anti
terrorist operations and civil disaster planning.

"But if the Staffordshire Police still believe that the Service could be
improved through economies of scale, I would actively encourage them to
enter into voluntary merger discussions with the Shropshire and/or the
Warwickshire or other rural police services. Any such merger would be
between equal partners, economies of scale could be achieved, and police
resources would not be sucked into large trouble spots. The Police and
Magistrates Courts Act already permits such voluntary mergers and has
been in place for over 10 years.

"Staffordshire is a predominantly rural county with few major centres of
population. The West Midlands is mainly urban and industrial. The
imbalance of the original merger plans should have been obvious to
everyone" Michael adds. "For once, I am grateful that Gordon Brown has
stubbornly refused to fund the merger."