Mahmood to present radical policing reforms to MPs
The Home Secretary is expected to make a statement to the Commons on Monday afternoon on her proposals.
Shabana Mahmood will set out her plans for a radical overhaul of policing to MPs on Monday in reforms billed as the most significant in two centuries.
The Home Secretary is expected to make a statement to the Commons on Monday afternoon on her proposals, which include slashing the number of police forces and creating a new National Police Service (NPS) to tackle major crimes.
Ms Mahmood said her plans were intended to respond to “an epidemic of everyday crime” such as shoplifting or phone theft that was going “unpunished”.
On Sunday, she promised “a new model of policing” that could deal with local crime while the NPS would act as a “British FBI” tackling cross-regional and international crime.
Many of Ms Mahmood’s other proposals have already been announced, including a new “licence to practice” for police officers and a reduction in red tape intended to get more officers onto the streets.
There are also measures intended to improve accountability, including giving the Home Secretary the power to sack underperforming chief constables and tougher enforcement of a new national target for response times in emergencies.
Other announcements over the weekend included a £7 million investment in tackling shoplifting, including £5 million for Operational Opal, a national intelligence sharing unit targeting shoplifting gangs.
Policing minister Sarah Jones said: “For too long, organised crime gangs have taken advantage of defenceless retailers, faced no consequences of their cruel actions and known that police forces may not always attend in time to catch them.
“My message to them is simple – there is nowhere to hide now.”
Ministers are planning a recruitment drive for volunteer special constables, whose numbers fell from more than 20,000 in 2012 to just 5,534 last year.
Police chiefs will also be told to hire more technology specialists to help tackle rising levels of digital crime as offenders exploit new technology such as deepfakes and AI.
Ms Mahmood said: “Crime has evolved – but police forces haven’t. Fraudsters and serious organised crime bosses are outsmarting them.
“Under my reforms, forces will now hire more digital, cyber and forensic officers to put vile criminals behind bars.”
The Home Secretary’s reform package is intended to both improve performance and save money, with fewer forces expected to spend less on back-office tasks such as administration and procurement.
But reaction has been mixed. While senior police officers have generally welcomed the creation of a new national force, the Police Federation has questioned plans to cut the number of regional forces, saying fewer forces did not “guarantee more or better policing”.
