Plan To Rename Police Force Branded ‘Nonsense’ By Federation

Plans to rename Leicestershire Police have been branded ‘nonsense’ by the Police Federation.

Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews has launched a consultation on changing it to Leicestershire and Rutland Police, saying communities in Rutland, which the force also serves, don’t feel an affinity with it.

But the Federation, which represents rank and file officers, say such a change would be a waste money, at a time the force needs extra staff and equipment, as it would mean changing vehicle livery, paperwork, uniform, leaflets and signage.

Leicestershire Police Federation chair Adam Commons

A plan agreed by Mr Matthews’s predecessor to fund an extra 100 police officers in Leicestershire was halted last week, after he said it was no longer “sustainable” in the long term.

Adam Commons, Leicestershire Police Federation Chairman, said: “You can’t cut 100 cops and then start talking about spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on a re-brand.

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

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

“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.”

Rutland has not featured in the name of the area’s police force since the 1970s.

Mr Matthews said: “Rutland residents have repeatedly told me they are disappointed not to be recognised in their police force’s name.

“Everyone is entitled to an opinion, which is exactly why I am consulting people across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to see if they support the idea of reinstating Rutland into the force’s name – or not.

“I will review the responses to my survey and act accordingly.”