THE future of Wiltshire Constabulary as a self-governing body is in jeopardy unless local people support it during the current Government consultation period, it has been claimed.

In the Government's Green Paper, Building Safer Communities Together, the possibility of amalgamating rural police forces into one enormous regional force, possibly with its headquarters in Bristol, is mooted.

And, at a briefing session in the Gold Room of the Wiltshire Emergency Services Communications Centre in Devizes on Monday, Bertie Woolnough, chairman of the Wiltshire and Swindon police authority, urged as many people as possible to respond to the Green Paper by January 27.

He said: "The Government launched this in early November but with Christmas coming up it was not at the forefront of many people's minds.

"If we don't have our say, our views will go by default.

"The general feeling I get from those that I have spoken to about this is: if it ain't broke don't try and fix it. They say that big is beautiful but what is big? Is that in numbers or in geographical terms?

"I firmly believe it is not about the size of the force but what you do with what you've got that counts. You only have to look at bigger forces to have little confidence that we would do any better as part of a bigger unit."

He told the meeting that the commander of a big regional force would be obliged to concentrate his resources on the "hot spots" in his area, for example in Bristol.

Coun Woolnough added: "We don't have a lot in the way of hot spots. Small forces deliver safer communities for no more expense proportionally. There is no optimum size, it is whatever fits."

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Vaughan, who only recently took up his post, said: "Change has got to be for the right reasons. I have been hugely impressed with the commitment of staff to make Wiltshire the second safest county in England. To change that suits the community I would say yes, but to change replicating change in the rest of the country, less so."

Once the national consultation process is complete the results will be used to publish a White Paper on changes in the police service across England and Wales, due out some time in the summer. This will form the basis of policing in the Government's manifesto for the next general election.

Local community meetings are being held throughout the county in the next few days. One was due to take place at Devizes town hall last night and there is another tonight at North Wiltshire District Council offices, Monkton Park, Chippenham, at 7pm.

On Monday, Swindon people can have their say at Swindon Borough Council offices, Euclid Street, Swindon, also from 7pm.

The Green Paper can be read in full on the internet at www.policereform.gov.uk/consultation2003.html