THE leader of Surrey County Council has once again called on Home Secretary Dr John Reid to scrap the controversial proposed merger of Surrey and Sussex police forces. Nick Skellett has written formally to the new Home Secretary outlining his serious concerns about the impact on communities in the county if the planned merger goes ahead. Mr Skellett's letter comes as Home Office officials confirmed that Dr Reid will force through mergers in areas where forces have resisted voluntary merging - which is the case for Surrey and Sussex. In his letter, Mr Skellett reiterated that there is no proven link between the size of a police force and performance. He quotes the Home Office/Cabinet Strategy Units' own findings on police force reform which says that "the case for mergers is far from self-evident". Another major area of concern is that much- eeded resources will be diverted from Surrey to Sussex. Surrey is the lowest-crime county in England and this is in large part due to having a top police force and close working relationships between partners. Mr Skellett fears that resources would be reallocated to Sussex, which has areas of higher crime, and this would threaten the county's excellent record. The Surrey Police Authority has estimated that the costs of the merger could be around £27 million. Commenting on the costs of the proposed merger, Mr Skellett said: "It's outrageous that the government is planning to spend millions of pounds of public money on a planned merger that is unpopular in both counties. What's more, there appears to be no evidence that it will be of benefit to the people living in these counties. "I urge Dr Reid to reconsider his plans as I believe this proposed police force merger will increase the fear of crime, increase the cost of policing and reduce effective neighbourhood policing. This cannot be a good thing for the people of Surrey. "I will ensure that the voice of Surrey is heard at every level of government and that we fight to retain our position as the county with the lowest crime in England." Mr Skellett is awaiting a response from Dr Reid.
