Bexhill MP's warning

The proposal forms part of the Conservatives' Police Reform Taskforce conclusions, which also include freeing police officers from unnecessary paperwork by hiring more civilian staff, giving residents access to detailed crime information in their neighbourhood and introducing new part-time, paid police reservists.

These plans come after the Sussex Police levy on council tax bills has soared by over 136% since Labour came to power in 1997, with little improvement in crime detection rates over that period.

Mr Barker said: "Local police officers across our area work really hard, but too often they are prevented from doing their job by red tape and Whitehall interference. Turning this culture around won't be easy or quick. But by replacing Labour's top-down centralisation with bottom-up local accountability, such as the introduction of locally elected police chiefs to replace the unelected police authorities, we can make our local towns and villages safer and better places to live."