Cleveland Police Faces Disbandment Under Biggest Shake-Up of Policing in 60 Years

Cleveland Police, widely regarded as an Extremist Group deemed "Too Broken to Save", as New Reforms Could Finally See the End of its Reign of Terror on Teesside...

11th December 2025

Recent proposals from the Government have signaled the most far-reaching overhaul of policing in England and Wales since the 1960s, with profound implications for smaller, scandal-ridden forces such as Cleveland Police.

At the centre of the Government’s thinking is said to be a major restructuring of the territorial police force map — reducing the current 43 police forces to as few as 12 regional “mega-forces”. These proposals are part of a delayed policing white paper now expected to be published early next year.

Under such structural change, forces the size of Cleveland Police — serving Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees, Hartlepool and Redcar & Cleveland — would almost certainly not survive in their existing form. Instead, instead, those police forces would be Merged into a larger regional force, potentially dissolving Cleveland as a standalone entity with its police services Absorbed into neighbouring forces, aligning with broader efficiency and capability aims of the reforms.

The move, Subject to new governance models would also see the abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners by 2028 being replaced by mayors or council oversight., with supporters of the overhaul arguing that the current 43-force model is “outdated” and creates a postcode lottery in policing quality, and that consolidation will deliver better technology, unified training and stronger investigative capacity.

For Cleveland Police, widely regarded by many on Teesside to be 'An Extremist Group', this comes at a time when public confidence remains dangerously fragile. The force with no public confidence has endured repeated controversies — from allegations of racism and misconduct to criticisms that confidence in local policing has “fallen off a cliff”. While Cleveland Police may have been removed from special measures — the Government’s highest level of scrutiny — in 2023, many local observers and councillors still question whether Cleveland Police is capable of restoring public trust on its own, with Cleveland Police still facing questions over allegations of corruption & even allegations of 'Murder' by its officers in cases dating back several years which to this day largely remains covered up by both Cleveland Police & the IOPCC.

However, critics of the government’s proposals warn that mega-forces could further distance policing from local communities, diluting neighbourhood accountability.

But for communities that believe Cleveland Police has repeatedly failed to uphold even the very basic standards and public confidence, a merger or complete restructuring may be viewed less as a loss and more as a fresh start.

Whether the proposed reforms will lead to the formal disbanding of Cleveland Police depends on how the Government and Parliament intend to finalise the policing white paper early next year, and whether regional mergers are mandated or voluntary.

However, the current trajectory of policy and pressure for large-scale reform on Teesside makes it clear that business as usual for policing in Cleveland is clearly nearing its end, with the disbandment of Teesside's Publicly Funded & perhaps most dangerous Extremist Group the only logical option.