Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced the biggest policing reforms in two centuries, including the creation of a new National Police Service—dubbed a 'British FBI'—to tackle serious crime, fraud, and terrorism. The overhaul will also see a significant reduction in the number of police forces in England and Wales, currently standing at 43.
Ms Mahmood told MPs that the current policing model is 'not fit for purpose', with local forces overstretched by national responsibilities. She said: 'Communities are facing an epidemic of everyday crime that all too often seems to go unpunished, and criminals know it.' The reforms aim to free up local forces to focus on neighbourhood issues like anti-social behaviour and phone theft.
The new National Police Service will be led by a National Police Commissioner and will bring together the National Crime Agency, Counter Terrorism Policing, Regional Organised Crime Units, police helicopters, and National Road Policing. It will share technology and intelligence to target complex crime networks.
Regional Crime Hubs will also be established to tackle drug networks, firearms supply, child sexual abuse, and high-harm fraud. The government plans to reduce the number of police forces 'significantly', arguing that 43 separate headquarters waste money on back-office functions that could be invested in frontline policing.
Additionally, police will be required to answer 999 calls within 10 seconds and attend crime scenes within 15 minutes in urban areas or 20 minutes in rural areas. Ms Mahmood criticised lengthy delays that allow perpetrators and witnesses to disappear before officers arrive.
The reforms also include a national rollout of AI tools such as facial recognition technology. Ms Mahmood compared its adoption to fingerprinting a century ago, stating: 'I have no doubt the same will prove true of facial recognition technology in the years to come.'
