The Home Secretary is preparing to unveil the biggest reorganisation of policing in a generation, with plans to slash the number of forces in England and Wales and refocus them on serious and organised crime…reports Asian Lite News
The government is preparing to embark on the largest overhaul of policing in England and Wales in decades, with plans to radically reduce the number of police forces from the current 43 and replace them with much larger regional bodies backed by a new layer of neighbourhood-level policing. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to set out the broad framework for the reforms next week, arguing that the existing structure is inefficient, fragmented and ill-suited to tackling modern forms of crime.
Under the proposals, the number of forces would be “significantly” cut, potentially paving the way for the creation of around a dozen so-called mega forces, an idea that has been circulating within policing for years. While ministers have not committed to a final figure, police leaders have long argued that fewer, bigger forces would allow resources, specialist skills and technology to be pooled more effectively. Government sources say the changes would not take effect immediately and could take until the end of the next parliament, around 2034, to be fully implemented.
Mahmood is expected to say that the current patchwork of 43 separate forces is irrational and wasteful, with each one maintaining its own headquarters, senior management teams and administrative structures. Ministers believe that this duplication drains money from frontline work and contributes to wide variations in performance between forces. In Whitehall, there is a growing view that smaller forces struggle to deal with serious and organised crime, as well as large-scale or complex incidents such as murders, major drug operations and cybercrime.
Under the new model, larger forces would be given responsibility for tackling these national and cross-border threats, with an emphasis on sophisticated investigations, intelligence-led policing and specialist capabilities. At the same time, the government plans to create new Local Policing Areas in every town, city and borough in England. These units would focus on neighbourhood policing and what ministers describe as “local crime”, including shoplifting, phone theft, street dealing and anti-social behaviour.
Officials argue that this dual structure would allow police to be both more local and more effective. While regional forces would take on the most serious threats, local officers would be tasked with rebuilding relationships with communities and responding quickly to everyday offences that often go unpunished. Government insiders say there is an “epidemic of every day offences” and that long delays in investigations have led many criminals to believe they can act with impunity.
Ministers insist that where someone lives should no longer determine the quality of policing they receive. At present, performance varies widely between forces, with some better equipped and more effective than others. By merging forces and standardising systems, the government hopes to reduce this postcode lottery and ensure more consistent outcomes for victims.
Next week’s announcement will not set out a detailed map of how many forces there will be or where their boundaries will lie. Instead, Mahmood is expected to launch an independent review to examine the precise structure of the new system and how the transition should be managed. That process is likely to involve complex negotiations with police leaders, local authorities and existing police bodies, including police and crime commissioners, who are also expected to be scrapped under the reforms.
The idea of merging forces is not new. More than 20 years ago, the then Home Secretary Charles Clarke proposed cutting the number of forces to 12, although the plan was eventually abandoned. Scotland went further in 2013, merging its eight regional forces into a single national body, Police Scotland, in a move that supporters say improved efficiency but which also attracted criticism over centralisation and accountability.
Mahmood’s allies are presenting the proposals as part of her wider modernisation agenda, portraying the Home Secretary as willing to take on vested interests and push through difficult changes. They say decades of reports and reviews have pointed to the need for reform and that the government is now determined to act.
The plans have already triggered a political row. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has accused the government of risking a more centralised and remote police service, warning that forced reorganisation could weaken policing in smaller towns and rural areas. She said the shake-up would undermine efforts to fight crime across England and Wales.
