Press Release

20 March 2006

Commenting on the Home Secretary's proposal to amalgamate Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk police forces, Jim Paice, MP for South East Cambridgeshire, said:

"An amalgamated force might look neat on a civil servant's map but there is no evidence that it will cut crime or make people feel safer. My constituents want to see a police presence which is locally accessible, knowledgeable and accountable. They recognise that the vast majority of crime in this area is committed by local people against their neighbours and they want effective community policing to deal with it. There has been no groundswell of support for the Home Secretary's proposal, which rather than strengthen the vital bonds between local people and the police, would undermine them."