ONE of West Mercia Police’s most senior figures has called for controversial force mergers to be revisited, it has emerged.

Assistant chief constable Gareth Morgan has used his personal blog to suggest the move should be back on the agenda.

Mr Morgan said it is inconceivable how forces could be asked to make more cuts without looking at options to merge – and claims it has become a taboo subject.

He said: “As we await the outcome of the current spending review and the service prepares itself for further significant cuts, it seems inconceivable that we can look to find further savings without looking at the most obvious overheads – the structure of force boundaries.

“In overseeing a current review of local policing in two forces where the prospect of police station closures, reducing officer numbers and the challenge to maintain key services are daily features I don’t believe it would be acceptable to the public that we would look again at front line service delivery in future cuts and avoid a debate about force boundaries, overheads and the police landscape.”

The comments come as West Mercia Police is actively working with its counterparts in Warwickshire on sharing back office functions.

The so-called ‘alliance’ is aimed at saving a combined £31 million by 2015, of which £20 million is coming from West Mercia’s budget.

Mr Morgan said failed attempts in 2005 to consider mergers had been overly political, with balanced arguments drowned out.

At the time, he was programme manager for the West Midlands region and did some preliminary work on behalf of forces in Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and Worcestershire.

He also believes England could learn from the example of Scotland, where there is a single force in operation which does not recognise geographical boundaries.

About 140 police officer jobs have been axed at West Mercia Police in response to Government pressure to save money.

They are also on the verge of making final announcements on building closures across the force area, and are giving officers Tetratab devices – similar to iPads – to keep them on the beat longer.

Bill Longmore, West Mercia police and crime commissioner, says there are no plans for mergers.

“Our alliance with Warwickshire will enable us to achieve huge savings across both forces while continuing to deliver the best possible protection for communities,” he said.