A Cumbrian MP has asked the Home Secretary for assurances that changes to policing in the UK won’t result in fewer officers on the beat.
Shabana Mahmood has set out plans to make changes to the way police officers work including the creation of a new National Police Service to fight the most complex cross-border crime.
The number of local forces in England and Wales could be cut by around two-thirds.
It said consolidating the current model would make the police more cost-efficient, giving the taxpayer more value for money, while also ensuring a less fragmented system that will better serve the public and make them safer.
“This Government’s reforms will ensure we have the right policing in the right place,” Ms Mahmood said.
Julie Minns, the Labour MP for Carlisle, asked if changes will see more officers onto the streets.
Ms Mahood said Ms Minns had made a powerful point and said she could offer that reassurance, adding that the policing minister had already spoken to Cumbria’s Police Fire and Crime Commissioner David Allen.
The largest reforms to policing since forces were professionalised two centuries ago were announced yesterday by the Home Secretary.
A White Paper, From Local to National: A New Model for Policing, outlines a radical blueprint for reform, so local forces protect their community and national policing protects us all.
A national police commissioner will be appointed to lead the force and will serve as the most senior police officer in the country.
It will enable local officers to spend more time supporting victims of crime and delivering neighbourhood policing, rather than navigating the forensics system, the Government said.
This will give victims confidence as their case will be supported by world‑class specialist expertise, and the latest technology, no matter where they live.
Part of the new National Police Service’s remit will be to take on responsibility for forensics from the 43 local forces with direction set centrally from the new organisation.
Demand for specialist digital forensics means there are 20,000 devices awaiting analysis at any time. The service will deal with these backlogs and help the police keep up with the ever-increasing pace of change in technology.
Frontline policing will save £350 million by scrapping outdated procurement approaches, which will instead be used to fight crime.
Under the current localised model, each of the 43 forces often procure technology, equipment and clothing themselves, meaning 43 different teams undertaking the same work.
The new National Police Service will end this inefficiency, taking on the responsibility for shared services, equipment and IT.
The National Police Service will buy equipment once on behalf of all, saving money through economies of scale and reinvesting the savings back into frontline policing to go after criminals, the Government said..
Under new reforms, response officers will be expected to reach the scene of the most serious incidents within 15 minutes in cities and 20 minutes in rural areas, and forces will be expected to answer 999 phone calls within 10 seconds.
Currently, data on response times is collected differently across forces, and police are not held accountable if targets are not met. Reforming the system will create more transparency and consistency across the country.
Where forces fail to deliver, the Home Secretary will send in experts from the best performing forces to improve their performance, including when unmet response‑time targets are part of broader systemic failing.
