Labour’s plan to merge police forces will damage officers’ local knowledge and lead to slower response times, a majority of voters fear.
Research conducted by Ipsos for the Daily Mail exposed serious concerns among the public over Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s proposals to create much larger regional police forces.
The findings also exposed scepticism over the Home Office’s plan to use artificial intelligence ‘chat bots’ to deal with non-urgent calls to the police.
The poll found 40 per cent of people oppose the proposed force mergers and only 28 per cent support it, with the rest indifferent or ‘don’t knows’.
Nearly eight out of 10 – 77 per cent – fear police will ‘lose local knowledge and community connections’ as a result of mergers.
And 69 per cent said they were concerned it would lead to slower police response times, despite Labour’s plan to introduce nationwide targets set at 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural areas.
A small majority, 53 per cent, said they believe Ms Mahmood’s suggestion that mergers would lead to better police teams to investigate serious crimes and specialist areas such as cyber crime.
When she unveiled her proposals at the end of last month – reducing the existing 43 force structure to as few as 12 – Ms Mahmood said it would free up money to invest in frontline policing.
But only 46 per cent of those polled said the moves would lead to increased frontline policing budgets, while 40 per cent said it was unlikely to do so.
Ms Mahmood’s policing White Paper said forces will roll out AI ‘chat bots’ to deal with non-urgent queries from victims of crime, while police 999 control rooms will use ‘AI-assisted operator services’ to help call handlers deal with tasks more effectively.
The Ipsos poll found 46 per cent of the public believe this will make the service the police provide worse, while only 28 per cent said it would make things better.
It found 57 per cent of respondents said they would feel uncomfortable if they were initially responded to by a chat bot rather than a person, and only 25 per cent said they would feel comfortable.
However, there was overall support for other aspects of Labour’s proposals.
Regarding greater use of facial recognition cameras by police, 57 per cent said they support the move and just 19 per cent oppose it.
On the Home Office’s pledge to provide forces with 40 extra vehicles equipped with live facial recognition cameras, 64 per cent of those interviewed support the move.
The poll found 54 per cent believe the presence of such cameras in their local high street would make them feel safer, while only 13 per cent said it would make them feel less safe.
On the plan to give the Home Secretary direct powers to dismiss under-performing chief constables, 58 per cent of those interviewed support the move and only 14 per cent oppose it.
A sizeable majority – 81 per cent – support Ms Mahmood’s plan to introduce a new ‘licence to practise’ for all police officers.
Asked about the current state of policing, 67 per cent of people said police foot or vehicle patrols are seen too rarely in their neighbourhood.
Just under half – 49 per cent – said they saw police officers patrolling their local area at least once a month, while 72 per cent said they see them at least once a year.
Only four per cent said they wanted police to prioritise investigating offensive comments made online.
Asked to name their top two or three priorities for police, responding to 999 calls and tackling violent crime were both mentioned by 46 per cent of those polled.
Other priorities were tackling anti-social behaviour and patrolling the streets (both 36 per cent), combating drug dealers (35 per cent), fighting shoplifting and theft (23 per cent), tackling phone theft and street robbery (13 per cent) and investigating fraud or scams (10 per cent).
Ipsos research director Hannah Shrimpton said: ‘The support for facial recognition technology suggests that security remains a priority for many, despite privacy considerations.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood unveiled the proposals in a police reform White Paper published at the end of January
‘However, the clear discomfort with AI chatbots indicates that there is work to be done in improving public trust in digital solutions.
‘There’s a delicate balance to strike between advancing technological capabilities and maintaining public confidence.
‘Additionally, the strong backing for professional development through a ‘licence to practise’ for police officers reflects a public desire for accountability and continuous improvement in policing standards.’
Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 970 adults aged 18 to 75 in England and Wales, with polling conducted online on February 5.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘The Home Secretary has announced reforms to policing that will make the public safer.
‘Local forces will be focused on protecting their community, while a new National Police Service protects us all.
‘We are restoring neighbourhood policing, with 13,000 more officers in their communities.
‘We will merge forces to reduce duplication and ensure every force can handle complex crimes.
‘And we will use technology to catch criminals and make communities safer.’