MORE THAN 130 angry protesters packed a meeting on Tuesday and demanded a face-to-face meeting with HampshireÕs Chief Constable to answer for the controversial decision to cut police numbers in East Hampshire and merge the Petersfield and Whitehill forces.

Banner waving campaigners staged a protest before the meeting at Penns Place. They then crowded into the council chamber to hear Superintendent Bob Rose, of Central Hampshire Police, say the moves were Ònon-negotiableÓ and he had taken the decision because Petersfield police were Òover-resourcedÓ.

As previously reported by The Herald, neither station will close as a result of the merger.

The cuts were a direct result of the Resource Allocation Formula which showed that Central Hants had the lowest number of crimes and prisoner arrests per officer, said Supt Rose.

After applying the formula he decided on cuts which included three officers from Petersfield, Whitehill and Alton.

He said his decision to then merge Petersfield and Whitehill into the Longmoor Sector meant officers had better leadership, better management and greater flexibility.

But protesters said they were not interested in police statistics or formulas.

One member of the public told Supt Rose: ÒWhat we want is the Chief Constable (Paul Kernaghan) here to answer to us. He is not a dictator- he may think he can impose his decisions on us but he has someone above him.Ó

The merger means that from February 2 officers from both towns will be briefed and debriefed at Whitehill, whose Inspector Gerry Thorne will look after both areas while Steve Sargent, his Petersfield counterpart, is moved to Alresford.

EHDCÕs chief executive Will Godfrey told residents he would write to the Chief Constable asking for a meeting to clarify the Resource Allocation Formula and how the merger would work.

Two public meetings are being held to discuss the merger in the coming weeks. The first is next Wednesday (January 14) at Lindford Church Hall at 7-30 pm while EHDCÕs north east area community committee will meet on Tuesday, January 20 at the Forest Community Centre at 6-30 pm.