Departing chief constable warns Government against policing cuts

Speaking to the BBC ahead of his retirement, Ben-Julian Harrington said ministers should not “throw the baby out with the bath water”.

Mr Harrington steps down today after eight years as chief constable of Essex Police. He told the BBC that the relationship between policing and local communities was fundamental to the service. “We live and breathe that in Essex – our relationship with communities,” he said.

Mr Harrington said there was a “Goldilocks principle” in policing, with forces needing to be large enough to deliver services while remaining small enough to get things done.

He warned that, in the longer term, policing could become increasingly separated from the communities it serves. “I think in the long term we will see policing – like it is certainly in other parts of the world – more separated from its communities and with less support,” he said.

The comments come as the Government considers major reforms to policing, including the prospect of significantly reducing the number of police forces in England and Wales.

Funding pressures are also affecting forces, with Essex’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner previously warning that the county could have to consider cutting up to 110 full-time roles.

A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC that the Government was working with policing partners to deliver reforms which would bring police closer to the communities they serve. The spokesperson said the Government wanted to ensure there was “the right policing in the right places”.