The proposal by the Home Office to merge the Thames Valley Police with the Hampshire Constabulary (Oxford Mail, November 18) will create one force stretching from Banbury to the southern tip of the Isle of Wight.

That's more than 100 miles from north to south and 80 miles from east to west.

How can there ever be a sense of a community with its police over such a vast area, and what reason can the Government have for creating such a regional force?

The case for change is based on the possible inability of some of the smaller forces to deal with a major terrorist threat or civil disaster.

This claim is based on no evidence at all as all forces can call on the assistance of other forces as required (for example, Gwent Police are currently patrolling the London Underground).

There is no case where the police have failed to respond adequately to a major situation.

The claim that forces below 4,000 are incapable is spurious.

The real reason behind the proposals is greater central control of the police, which is perceived to be easier with 12 forces than the current 43.

The only supporters of the proposals are the Home Secretary, Association of Chief Police Officers, and the camp followers of the Superintendents' Association.

There has been press and public criticism of the proposals, with no support. The Home Office is rushing through proposals in three months, without any public debate. It is a basic denial of the democratic process.

The loss will be in the link between an individual force and its local community.

It is difficult enough at present to get the large Thames Valley force interested in local issues.

The local officer's response to attend a meeting in Jericho, Oxford, to establish a Community Watch was that he had "better things to do". With a regional force, it will be even worse.

What value will the police have in the interests of one local community when there are several million other people in their patch?

Great play has been made of the new Basic Command Units (BCU) to serve a community, but while there are 7,000 to 8,000 individual communities in the country, there are only 230 BCUs. These are just the old divisions writ large.

When dealing with such an important issue as policing, time should be taken to ensure the best possible solution is chosen.

The best conduit for this is a Royal Commission. It is more than 40 years since one was last established to look at the police. The call from many quarters for such a body to be established, in line with Sir Ian Blair's call for public debate, has brought a response from Tony Blair: "Haven't got time for Royal Commissions".

Well, Mr Blair may feel the sands of time running out for his premiership, but that is no reason why the cherished tradition of local policing, the envy of the world, should be destroyed on the altar of central control.

Paul Hornby

Walton Crescent

Jericho

Oxford