Policing Alliance and How it’s Governed

Warwickshire Police works in an alliance with West Mercia Police, with services delivered jointly across each policing area. While each force retains its own Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable, all posts below this are shared. The alliance is not a merger, however. Each force retains its own identity and separate financial accounts are also maintained.

The agreement to form the alliance was made in June 2011 by the two force Chief Constables and their respective Police Authorities.  The decision to work in an alliance has been supported by successive Police and Crime Commissioners in Warwickshire and West Mercia.  The governance structure for both forces remains with individual PCCs.

One of the prime catalysts for the alliance was the necessity for the two forces to reduce their costs by over £30 million as part of the government’s comprehensive spending review. However, it was also recognised that the benefits for both forces were far broader than financial, including delivery of greater operational and organisational resilience protecting frontline policing resources and ensuring our processes were lean and more effective to deliver the best possible services.

There are a number of documents available on this site for the public to read which set out the agreement between Warwickshire and West Mercia police forces.

• Read the Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police and Police Authority Collaboration Agreement
• Read the Strategic Alliance Agreement
• Read the Police Foundation independent review report on the alliance
• Read the Alliance Strategic Assessment for 2017/18