A PLANNED merger of Dorset Police with the force for Devon and Cornwall could be “dead in the water” after top bosses failed to agree a business case.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the scheme would create a force responsible for some two-and-a-half million residents living between Land's End and Highcliffe.

An announcement to merge the two forces was made in September last year, and earlier this year, police and crime commissioners Martyn Underhill, representing Dorset, and Alison Hernandez, representing Devon and Cornwall, launched a large-scale public consultation.

Members of the press were invited to Dorset Police's HQ in Winfrith today to speak to the PCCs and chief constables about whether or not the business case will be submitted to the Home Office in October.

However, this morning, the meeting was cancelled, and it was announced that Ms Hernandez does not currently support the submission of the case.

She said she cannot support the business case in its current form. Her primary concerns relate to a possible increase in council tax precepts for her residents, although the results of a public consultation were also “inconclusive”.

The council tax precepts could be lower in Dorset if the merger goes ahead.

In an interview Ms Hernandez said the merger could well be “dead in the water”.

An abridged version of the business case is due to appear on the force’s websites to allow ‘greater scrutiny and transparency’.

A final decision will be made on Monday, October 8 after police and crime panel meetings for both forces.

A spokesperson from Dorset Police said: "Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer of Devon and Cornwall Police, Chief Constable James Vaughan of Dorset Police, Ms Hernandez and Mr Underhill discussed the business case on Tuesday during a productive Alliance Convergence Board meeting.

"Both chief constables and PCCs agreed the business case, but have not reached a unanimous decision about whether to submit it to the Home Office.

"The Devon and Cornwall PCC’s current view is not to support the submission of the business case to the Home Office and she will be taking it to the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel meeting for further discussion on Friday, October 5.

"A final decision will be made on Monday, October 8 after both Police and Crime Panel meetings, which are taking place within the next ten days.

"Both chief constables and PCCs would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the engagement and provided feedback."

Ms Hernandez said: “I am not convinced that the huge disruption that a merger would cause is worth the relatively minor savings that it would deliver at a time when our communities want every officer to be completely focused on frontline policing.”

The Daily Echo has approached Mr Underhill for comment.

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