THE proposed merger between Devon and Cornwall Police and Dorset Police has been stopped.

At this morning’s meeting of the Police and Crime Panel, councillors from Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly discussed the business case for the proposed merger and voted to support Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez’s position that she was minded to stop the merger.

Last week she raised concerns over council tax harmonisation and lack of community support for the plans, but she wanted to bring her decision, as an outlier of the four decision making bodies, to the panel for additional scrutiny and make public the business case for the proposal.

After a lengthy debate members of the Police and Crime Panel voted 12 to 4 with one abstention to support her position.

The PCC said: “I really appreciated being able to bring the business case to my Police and Crime Panel today. As I was the only decision maker who was against the proposal it was important to have this extra layer of scrutiny and transparency.

“I needed to be sure we were making the right decision for our communities and to have the support of the panel supports my view that merging the two police forces is not in the best interests of the people of Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”

The proposal to merge will now not be submitted to the Home Office.

Read more about the latest developments here.