POLICE leaders and supporters of Hampshire Constabulary are celebrating after Home Secretary Charles Clarke announced that it is to remain as a stand-alone force.

The Gazette's "May the Force be with us" campaign, which was backed by Hampshire Constabulary police chiefs and all three local MPs, was part of a concerted effort to convince Mr Clarke that Hampshire deserved to stay as it is in a radical shake-up of the police service.

Mr Clarke has announced that the number of police forces across England and Wales will be cut from 43 to 24, and maybe fewer, under controversial merger plans.

However, while some will face merger, on Monday Mr Clarke revealed that the Hampshire, Thames Valley and Kent forces will remain as stand-alone strategic constabularies.

In a statement to MPs, Mr Clarke said: "My vision for the police service in the 21st century is that it should be close, responsive and accountable to the communities it serves."

He continued: "This will be supported by larger forces with the capacity and specialist expertise to protect the public from wider threats such as serious and organised crime."

The Gazette had sought to rally local support for the Hampshire Constabulary cause - particularly over concerns about the cost and loss of local services that could result from merger proposals - and hundreds of local residents signed our campaign petition.

Welcoming Mr Clarke's decision, Basingstoke police commander Superintendent Paul Netherton said: "This is the right decision and Hampshire Constabulary will continue to deliver top quality and local services to the local community.

"The realisation that the public wanted a local police force and the evidence that Hampshire Constabulary has put forward showing that it is one of the best forces in the country has made the difference.

"It is all about us being efficient and effective. In terms of money, we are one of the cheapest, and in terms of results, we are the best."

James Arbuthnot, MP for North East Hampshire, said: "This is really good news and The Gazette deserves many congratulations for an extremely effective campaign.

"It's not often that campaigns and petitions succeed all the way along, but The Gazette's has because people agreed with it."

Sir George Young, MP for North West Hampshire, also fully supported The Gazette's campaign, and was delighted with the result.

"Officers from Hampshire Constabulary can now go on preventing and detecting crime in the county without the diversion of having to merge with another police force and all the things that are associated with that," he said.

While Basingstoke MP Maria Miller is happy that Hampshire has survived intact, she has reservations about the financial implications of other forces - like Surrey and Sussex - being merged.

She said: "With so many other police forces being compelled to merge, and the cost estimated to be some £500million, there will be tremendous financial pressure put on the police force nationwide.

"I remain concerned that this process will take focus and money away from improving community policing, which has become such a concern for residents in Basingstoke.

"While Hampshire appears to be safe for now, many other areas are being forced into mergers after inadequate consultations. I will be strongly supporting a change in the law to force the Government to hold referendums in areas where mergers are contested. I think we need this to act as a safety net for Basingstoke in the long-term future."

Mike Attenborough-Cox, chairman of Hampshire Police Authority, said: "We put forward a very strong business case that, with little investment, Hampshire could be a stand-alone strategic force.

"The police authority has agreed a budget that will allow that investment and will see improvements, not only at the proactive-services level but also in community safety and neighbourhood policing."

Hampshire Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan said: "I am delighted the Home Office accepted the findings of our business case, which showed that any other option required significant additional investment, the absence of which would have endangered the current levels of proactive service provision."

First published: Thursday, March 20, 2006