Reading the runes: the future structure of police forces

This article considers recent proposals for the reorganization of local government and the implications of this for local police forces in England and Wales. It suggests that the redrawing of local authority boundaries is likely to increase pressure on police forces to establish regionalized structures through the amalgamation of local forces. It is argued that one element of such reorganization should be the creation of local district ‘police and community safety’ committees, which might co‐ordinate crime prevention initiatives. These might also provide a formal structure to which local police forces and senior officers could be made statutorily answerable for policing policies and priorities.