Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled what is being described as the most significant transformation of policing in British history, declaring that while "crime is changing," traditional "policing hasn't kept pace" with modern challenges.
A New Blueprint for Policing
The sweeping reforms are detailed in a forthcoming white paper titled From local to national: a new model for policing, due for publication. The proposals aim to fundamentally restructure law enforcement across England and Wales, introducing what officials term a 'whole new model' for the service.
Technological Advancements and National Restructuring
A cornerstone of the new strategy involves a massive expansion of live facial recognition technology. The existing fleet of 10 specialist vans will be increased to 50, ensuring every police force has access to this tool for identifying suspects on watchlists. Furthermore, a dedicated national centre for artificial intelligence, to be named Police.AI, will be established to oversee the rollout of AI capabilities to all forces and regulate its ethical application.
Perhaps the most radical structural change is the creation of a "British FBI" – the National Police Service (NPS). This powerful new body will merge several existing national agencies, including the National Crime Agency, Counter Terror Policing, the National Police Air Service, and National Roads Policing, into a single command structure designed to tackle serious and complex crime more effectively.
Enhanced Operational Targets and Accountability
The reforms introduce stringent new performance standards for police responses. Officers will be expected to reach the scene of serious incidents, such as those involving immediate danger to life or violence, within 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural settings. Additionally, forces will be mandated to answer 999 emergency calls within 10 seconds.
Accountability measures are also being significantly strengthened. The Home Secretary will be granted new powers to intervene in underperforming forces, including the authority to dispatch expert teams to address failures and the power to dismiss chief constables deemed to be "poorly performing." A new senior commander role, the national public order commander, will be created to lead on public disorder and coordinate major responses, incorporating lessons learned from the summer disorder of 2024.
Professional Standards and Funding Reallocation
In a bid to drive up professional standards, all police officers will be required to obtain a "licence to practise" by completing a mandatory national training programme. Officers who fail to meet these new requirements will face dismissal from the service.
The government also plans to scrap the existing officer maintenance grant, which ministers argue has incentivised forces to hire uniformed officers to meet headcount targets only to assign them to administrative roles. The funding will be reallocated to support putting more police officers into visible, frontline community roles.
These comprehensive reforms represent a decisive shift towards a more integrated, technologically adept, and accountable policing model for the United Kingdom, with the stated aim of better protecting the public in an evolving criminal landscape.
