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Police Restructuring

When it comes to operational policing, will my right hon. Friend bear in mind the fact that this debate is being held as though only one police force operates in this country—the home police forces of the counties? It does not. Eight different police forces operate in my constituency at any one time, including the British Transport police and a host of others, most significantly the Minister of Defence police, and we cannot possibly sensibly consider police reform unless we consider the interface of all police forces. In garrison towns around my constituency there is an everyday working relationship between such forces, as there is in Colchester—the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell) is not here but I know that he would agree—and in Aldershot, represented by my hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth), and we must take that into account if we are to have sensible operational results.