West Mercia Police - described in the House of Commons this week as "the finest police force in the country" - are urging local people to have a say in how the area should be policed in the future.

In an unprecedented step, the West Mercia Police Authority has taken out full-page advertisements in local newspapers, including the Journal, to encourage people to make their views known.

Under the headline: "You have the right to remain silent....Please don't", the adverts mark the start of the critical stage of public consultation relating to the restructuring of the police service throughout England and Wales.

Local people have until this Sunday to express their views on how they would like their community to be policed in the future.

The exercise was proposed by Home Secretary Charles Clarke. The Home Office believes that larger forces are better placed to respond effectively to major incidents, serious and organised crime, public disorder and counter-terrorism, while maintaining a strong and responsive local policing service.

At present the West Mercia force and its Police Authority are considering two short-listed options.

The first is an enhanced West Mercia force policing Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Worcestershire.

This option would retain the force's current identity and geography and would build upon its existing structure.

The second option is a new regional force which would involve the amalgamation of four forces - West Mercia, West Midlands, Staffordshire and Warwickshire. This new "superforce" would have a boundary which matched the Government region.

The Police Authority has published its view of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the two options on its website - www.westmerciapoliceauthority.gov.uk.

The Authority has also set up a special telephone number to call - 0800 854 591 - to enable local people to discover more information and express their views. Calls to this number are free.

Paul Deneen, chairman of the Police Authority, said: "The citizens of West Mercia have a unique opportunity to help shape the way in which their communities will be police in the future. I would urge everyone to take this opportunity to make their voice heard and register their view."

Meanwhile, Vale MP Peter Luff challenged Prime Minister Tony Blair about the issue in Parliament this week.

He said afterwards: "Merging police forces against local wishes is an act of wanton destruction that must be stopped. I hope my questions may have woken up the Prime Minister to the strung opposition that exists not just in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire, but around the country.