Plans to change county police force name slammed as a waste of money

Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Rupert Matthews has launched a consultation into his proposal to amend the name from Leicestershire Police to take into account the county of Rutland which is also covered in the force area.

But Leicestershire Police Federation has attacked the idea because of the extra cost involved in changing vehicle livery, paperwork, uniforms, leaflets and signage if it goes ahead.

Chair, Adam Commons, says the money needed to facilitate the name change would be much better spent on equipment, vehicles and training to help the fight against crime.

Mr Commons said: “It would be an enormous operation to rebrand the force, and from my point of view, it is a nonsense.

“With everything that is going on in our world - the pandemic, officers getting injured, everyone worried about the increasing cost of living - this is so unimportant.

“The name cannot be a priority.

“If we have got money to spend, it needs to go on equipment, training, vehicles and Taser capacity.”

And Mr Commons is confident residents will not support a name change, adding: “If you were to ask the public, they would want us engaging with the communities, driving down knife crime, violent crime.

“It has made me angry.

“In the list of priorities in the policing world, I am just astounded that this has been suggested.”

The local force was called Leicestershire and Rutland Constabulary between 1951 and 1972 and PCC Mr Matthews says some Rutlanders are unhappy their county is not recognised in the current name.

He said: “Many communities in Rutland do not feel a natural affinity with Leicestershire Police.

“And this is not helped by the name of the force being ‘Leicestershire Police’.

“As I have said on many occasions I want a local force to build trust and confidence in their local communities and a service that local people connect with.”

Mr Matthews added: “I want to make long-lasting and positive changes to Leicestershire Police and one of the things I am able to do is develop the name of the force so that it has greater identity and resonance with all parts of the force area, whether in rural Leicestershire, Rutland and the City of Leicester.

“Rutland is a proud county with a strong sense of community and has long been associated with Leicestershire, and the two counties share much.

“I believe that a name change from Leicestershire Police to Leicestershire and Rutland Police would maintain its current connection with the City of Leicester but also remedy this perceived divide.”

It is the second time Mr Matthews has been criticised recently - last week his predecessor Lord Willy Bach was unhappy that the new police budget ignored his suggestion to use revenue from a Council Tax rise to recruit 100 new officers.

Go online at https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6729134/Should-Leicestershire-Police-be-renamed to complete the short survey proposing a name change for Leicestershire Police.