The Police Act 1946 (1946 c.46) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provided for the amalgamation of smaller borough police forces with county constabularies in England and Wales, allowed for the merger of county forces in certain circumstances and changed the boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District. Following the 1947 mergers there were 133 police forces covering England and Wales: † The actual number was 53, as the Lincolnshire Constabulary was jointly maintained by three counties.