WMP and Warwickshire Police Alliance

[Ubique]

Reading the BBC News this evening to learn that the Alliance between West Mercia Police and Warwuckshire Police is coming to an end .

West Mercia Police have"  decided to withdraw from the current strategic alliance " it has with Warwuckshire Police . It appears that Warwickshire Police disagree with the breakup stating that it has saved more than £35 million and that they were hugely disappointed.

The Forces merged firearms , dog handlers ,IT and Control in 2013  .

 Just wondering how much it's going to cost WMP to " un merge " the Units . The break away is due to be completed by 8th October 2019

 

 

[Roger]

Well ..... Where do you start on this one?  ..... WMP will bear all reasonable costs of the breakup . Warwickshire say £35M has been saved already due to the alliance. Bangham is saying the breakup will improve services in Herefordshire and Worcestershire (but the quote doesn't mention improvement for Shropshire). Apparently this improved service can be provided after the divorce payment to Warks has been made. A sort of Brexit Mark #2 ! 

[Ubique]

Quite surprised , or am I ..........no mention of this in our local paper yet .

[megilleland]

From West Mercia Police website:

Enhancing and Improving West Mercia Police

West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion and the force's Chief Constable Anthony Bangham have today jointly announced their intention to withdraw from the current strategic alliance arrangements the force has with Warwickshire Police.

The decision has been made to deliver more effective and efficient services to communities, and ensure the public get better value for money.

A formal process has now started to bring the existing strategic alliance to an end on October 8, 2019. This will include negotiations with Warwickshire Police to identify where efficiencies may remain and be maximised through a different shared service arrangement.

PCC John Campion said "This has been a carefully considered decision with communities in mind, and both the Chief Constable and I, are in agreement that this approach will enhance and improve the service moving forward.

"How exactly this will look will be shaped over the next year, and this will be worked in detail, with our communities and workforce at the forefront of any decisions."

Chief Constable Anthony Bangham said: "This is a positive start for a new chapter for West Mercia Police, opening up opportunities to deliver more efficient and effective policing services and providing the very best protection to our communities, with a greater focus and clarity at a local level.

"Whilst officers will respond as they always have, local policing will be enhanced, by improved supporting services. Work is underway to shape this, refocusing where collaborative arrangements are currently in place.

"The planning of this will now commence at pace, with immediate effect and we will continue ensure our workforce and key partners remain informed throughout this process."

ENDS.

Notes to Editors:

Formal notice of the intention to end the alliance arrangement was served to Warwickshire Police and Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner on the morning of 8th October. However this discussion followed extensive discussions between both PCCs and Chief Constables over a longer period of time. The decision had been communicated to both the Warwickshire PCC and Chief Constable at least a week prior to the formal written notification.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Sarah-Jane Morgan, Engagement Officer (West Mercia OPCC)

Tel: 01905 338 850 or 07817 032 739 Email: Sarah-jane.morgan@westmercia.pnn.police.uk

Formal notice of the intention to end the alliance arrangement was served to Warwickshire Police and Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner on the morning of 8th October. However this discussion followed extensive discussions between both PCCs and Chief Constables over a longer period of time. The decision had been communicated to both the Warwickshire PCC and Chief Constable at least a week prior to the formal written notification.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Sarah-Jane Morgan, Engagement Officer (West Mercia OPCC)

Tel: 01905 338 850 or 07817 032 739 Email: Sarah-jane.morgan@westmercia.pnn.police.uk

[megilleland]

Reminder of why they amalgamated:

20th June 2012 - Hereford Times.

1,000 jobs set to go in £30m police cuts

PLANS to shed £30 million from policing costs across the region under a “strategic alliance” between forces in West Mercia and Warwickshire are about to be finalised.

West Mercia Police agreed to enter into a formal partnership yesterday, a move which is expected to lead to up to 1,000 job cuts in total.

About £22.8 million of the savings will come from losing workers, with the cull set to take place between now and 2015/16.

And £4 million is due to be saved from sharing IT, reviewing building costs and vehicles.

West Mercia Police will take the brunt of the cuts, with the force aiming to save £20 million of the total figure.

Warwickshire’s police authority is meeting today to finalise their side of the alliance, and will be responsible for the remaining £10 million.

The exact number of the job losses have yet to be confirmed, but HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) revealed last year more than 1,000 posts were likely to go.

Simon Payne, of the Police Federation, has hit out at the move, saying: “The key thing for our members is, are we being treated fairly? I think not.

“The public will rightly be asking who is to blame for this.”

Councillor Mary Drinkwater, who sits on the police authority, which approved it, said: “I think people want to see police kept on the streets and communities protected. Hopefully, it will work. Over last year police and officers have worked incredibly hard to put this together, it’s been a lot of effort.”

The majority of the job losses will affect staff in “management and leadership” roles, rather than frontline police officers.

Both forces will keep their chief constables and deputies, but expect to lose a significant number of other senior positions.

All police stations have been placed under review, any new vehicles being bought will be funded jointly, and a single firearms unit will be created.

Both police authorities will be defunct by November, when a new police and crime commissioner will be elected.

Robin Walker, Worcester’s MP, said: “These are tough economic times and when there is not as much money to go round, prioritising spending on police officers while sharing assets and making back office savings is a better approach.”

Looks like we drew the short straw paying for this and still expected to pay again for the "divorce". Marvelous savings for the ratepayers!

[Ubique]

Interesting reading Megiilleland - that will come back to bite some people on their rear end.

i have a feeling that we will get a paragraph or two from our friend Bobby47 soon ! 

[Roger]

The soundbites from Campion and Bangham are all very well and good. But there is no detail about why being in bed with Warks went sour. It will obviously be a money issue but there is no explanation about why it is more cost effective to split. 

[Ubique]

From BBC Website.......

Three senior members of WM Police Federation branch are under criminal investigation over "practices and conduct", the organisation has said.

West Mercia Police Assistant Chief Constable Martin Evans said a complaint had been made about the conduct of West Mercia Police Federation members.

One guess as to which Force is doing the Investigation ............Yes Warwickshire ! 

[Roger]

This seems to be about interest free 'car loans' WMP has historically plowed many an hour into investigating itself. 

[bobby47]

The more I see and the more I read about our once wonderful British Police Service, the more I begin to understand the impact the new breed of leaders have had upon the Service and the public they serve. 

In the nineties society gave them and their ilk a foothold on the promotion ladder. Discarding common sense and an ability to be a thief taker, and instead concentrating upon academia and their degrees, these operationally lightweight blue sky thinkers have now got a stranglehold on the Service and worse, they now promote like minded souls who've infested every tier of the Police Service. It's a relentless chain of unforeseen circumstances that amount to a total f.u.ck up!

Consequently, because of them and their so called steategic view of British societies, we've not only got Policing at a distance that impacts upon us all, we've now got idiotic badly thought out and composed ideas such as this Partnership thats cost us all an arm and a leg. Whoever thought this Partnership with a bankrupt Warwickshire Constabulary was a good idea? All it's done is divert West Mercia wealth into Warwickshire and fix the fiscal holes in their bloody boat. Our money has saved them!

One only has to review the recent terrorist attack in Westminster that saw Sir Craig Mackey, following to the letter the advice of the Association Of Chief Police Officers to the public that when faced with a terrorist attack, they should do as he did and 'Run Hide &Tell' and it's very evident just how far away and detached the Police have become to their communities. Instead of getting out of his car and fighting back or using his car to crush the evil bars.tard, dear Sir Craig, a coward n the eyes of many, drove off to the comfort of his distant policing command office.

Run, Hide and Tell, will get you killed! Worse! Some other poor sod will die in your place. You don't Run, Hide And Tell. You gather your thoughts, control your adrenalin, manage your fears, you wrap some garments around your forearms and not unlike a football hooligan you go on the attack and fight back. That's what you do! Don't behave like Sir Craig Mackey and all the others in the Police Service who've been trained to evade injury or harm at any cost. Ignore these idiots! 

These idiots who choose to tell us all to, 'Run, Hide & Tell', are the very same incompetent idiotic people who caused us all to amalgamate with Warwickshire and save us all millions and millions of pounds. 

Course, as is often the case, it all turned out to be a load of boll.ock.s! But never mind. As expensive as it was, we can comfort ourselves in the knowledge that Sir Craig is right behind us. About thirty bloody miles behind us and well way from any violence that's visited upon us the silly tw.at.s who help fund this madness.

 

 

 

[Ubique]

Sadly Bobby what you have written is the truth , nothing but the truth .  Excellent thoughts. 

[Ubique]

From BBC. It appears that the alliance didn't work because it was inbalanced and inefficient the WM Chief Constable reported to his Police and Crime Panel .plus the fact that WM decision to open a joint Control Room was being flustered by Warks who opened a new Control Room at Warwick.

it appeared that both Forces were getting a 50 -50'say on decisions but WMP were paying for 69% of the Services across the two force areas. ( Population of WMP area is 1.2 million and Warwickshire is 554,000. ) 

[Roger]

8 hours ago, Ubique said:

From BBC. It appears that the alliance didn't work because it was inbalanced and inefficient the WM Chief Constable reported to his Police and Crime Panel .plus the fact that WM decision to open a joint Control Room was being flustered by Warks who opened a new Control Room at Warwick.

it appeared that both Forces were getting a 50 -50'say on decisions but WMP were paying for 69% of the Services across the two force areas. ( Population of WMP area is 1.2 million and Warwickshire is 554,000. ) 

A Bit like #Brexit. At some point you get fed up of subsidising a partner. Our UK money builds great roads in Poland but our UK potholes remain unfilled. We have to have a strategy to deal with the Russian threat tho. It is already there and causing chaos. Shooting planes down. Crimea annexed. Etc ..... I could discuss this all day! 

[Ubique]

I understand that the Home Office have told both Forces that rather than the Alliance terminating in the coming week the termination will be in three months time . Apparently Warwickshire Services are not ready for the break hence the extension