Defence police chair calls for any joint force to be MoD-led

Any potential amalgamation of non-Home Office forces should sit within the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the chair of the Defence Police Federation (DPF) has argued.

A government review led by the Home Office is currently examining whether non-Home Office forces – including the MOD Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary and British Transport Police – could potentially be merged to sit under one department to share infrastructure and cut costs.

Speaking at his organisation’s annual conference last week, Eamon Keating criticised the “inertia” shown by the MoD over plans being formulated after the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) of 2015 recommended police and security organisations guarding critical sites across the country could be closer aligned.

Mr Keating said the DPF – which represents 2,600 officers – has only been given “indications” of what the future might hold.

“Our view is that management of, and responsibility for, such a police service could and should sit with the MoD,” he said.

“This is not out of any reluctance to embrace change, but rather an objective reflection on how any alternative arrangements might affect the security of MoD assets.

“An amalgamated police service will have numerous priorities and there is the distinct potential that securing the MoD estate and assets could be pushed down that priority list if the MoD is not the overseeing government

department.”

The MoD Police protect sites of national importance across the UK, including military bases and other vital infrastructure.

Mr Keating said the MoD Police is ideally suited to securing the most critical assets and dealing with some of the most sensitive security issues, adding that what it does cannot be duplicated by any other workforce within British policing.

“We cannot be replaced without the MoD incurring additional costs, experiencing a reduction in security or finding a skills and knowledge gap between our officers and any workforce it would replace us with,” he said.

“The MOD Police was established to fulfil a specific need. That need still exists. And we remain the best workforce to meet those requirements.”

He also outlined concerns that the SDSR – which sets out the Government approach to National Security – could mean further officer reductions for his force, despite for the past five years it has “operated at the very limits of its resources”.

The review was published in November last year and the MoD has yet to respond in detail to the proposals.

“We should not be immune from the requirements of savings and efficiency, but we have already done more with less. It is impossible to imagine how an even smaller workforce could meet the demands of the MoD if these remain the same,” Mr Keating added.

A major stumbling block to amalgamations is the need to untangle the funding arrangements which see the CNC paid for by the Department of Energy through contributions made by energy companies, British Transport Police reports to the Department of Transport and receives funding from train operating companies and the MoD Police operates under the Ministry of Defence.

One solution understood to be under consideration is to amalgamate MoD Police with the CNC using a funding model in existence; MoD Police currently charge the Department for Energy for guarding a number of gas installations.

Consultants Deloitte are currently preparing a report on the efficiencies of the various agencies’ assets, due to be delivered to the Home Office next month.

A government announcement is not expected until the Autumn.