The chairman of a Midland police authority threatened with merger under new Government proposals is urging the Home Secretary to consider keeping the status quo.

Mike Poulter, from Staffordshire Police Authority, said leaving the highachieving force as it is should be a "serious option" over either amalgamating it with West Mercia or creating a regional superforce consisting of the Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands forces.

The move to change the system has come about after a recent report concluded that the current policing structure was insufficient to provide the level of " protective services" needed to deal with terrorism and organised crime.

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Each force has been asked to put forward a shortlist of ways to combine resources to the Home Secretary before October 31.

Mr Poulter said: " Staffordshire is nationally recognised as a top performing force and the HMIC's recent Closing The Gap inspection, which prompted the restructuring agenda, highlighted that we are performing above expectation in terms of tackling level two crime.

"This must be tempered by what is practical. Staying as we are would mean a significant increase in additional resources for our force and would need a significant development of regional collaboration arrangements."

Mr Poulter reassured the public that whichever option was chosen, the strong commitment to local policing would remain.

"During all our work and discussions we are clear about one thing: public protection is our top priority. Any changes have to be about making Staffordshire an even safer place in which to live, work or travel," he said.

The options are due be validated and examined by a central team, headed up by the Home Secretary, who will feedback to the forces in early November.

A range of public consultation events is due to take place throughout November, giving people the chance to review the shortlist of options.

Chief Constable Paul West, from West Mercia Police, has urged the public to get involved in the discussions.

Mr West said: " It is becoming increasingly clear that West Mercia will not be permitted to stand alone, retain its current structure and size, and remain unaffected by the significant changes likely to be made in every region of England and Wales, even if that was our wish."

Last week the chief constables and police authority leaders from Warwickshire, West Mercia, Staffordshire and West Midlands force areas met for the first time to share their thoughts on the restructuring proposals.

Forces in the region have until December 23 to decide how they want policing services to be delivered in the future. The final decision on structuring the region's policing is expected next April.