A new National Police Service is on the way (Image: Liverpool Echo)
The biggest policing shake-up in two centuries is promised with a new National Police Service coming to act as this nation’s version of the United States’s FBI. For the first time, the work of the National Crime Agency, counter-terrorism policing, regional organised crime units, police helicopters and national road policing will be combined in a single force.
The Express can reveal that regional crime hubs will be launched to target the criminal networks responsible for drug and gun-running, child abuse and major fraud. A key goal is lifting “national policing responsibilities” from local forces so they are fred to tackle shoplifting, phone theft and anti-social behaviour.
Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: “Criminals don’t respect borders, so we need a policing response that is agile and adept to go after the most serious and complex crime networks. Regional crime hubs will deploy the best talent and state of the art technology to go after cross-border criminals to keep our communities safe.”
The plans will be unveiled on Monday and come as pressure mounts on Labour from the Conservatives and Reform UK to get tough on crime. Today, City of London Police are responsible nationally for fraud, while the Metropolitan Police leads on Counter Terror Policing and West Yorkshire Police runs the National Police Air Service run by West Yorkshire Police.
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in London’s Lambeth (Image: PA)
Ms Mahmood, who describes the new national force as the British FBI”, said the present policing model was “built for a different century”.
She said: ”Some local forces lack the skills or resources they need to fight complex modern crime such as fraud, online child abuse or organised criminal gangs.”
The Home Secretary – regularly spoken of as a contender to one day lead Labour – promised the new service would deploy “world-class talent and state-of-the-art technology to track down and catch dangerous criminals”.
The service will be led by a National Police Commissioner who will be the most senior police chief in the country.
Ms Mahmood is also expected to lay out plans in Monday’s White Paper to slash the overall number of forces from the present 43. She has described the current structure of forces in England and Wales as “irrational”.
The Government has already said it will scrap police and crime commissioners in 2028 with mayors and council leaders taking up responsibilities.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp warned the changes “must not come at the expense of local and community policing, which is where public confidence is built and everyday crime is stopped”.
He said: “Labour wants to force through mega-forces after stripping 1,316 officers from the frontline. More top-down reorganisation risks undermining efforts to catch criminals and it delivers no real improvement on the ground.”
He added: “After the betrayal of handing away the Chagos Islands and waving through a Chinese mega-spy hub in the heart of the City, Labour clearly cannot be trusted with national security.”
Sarah Pochin fears resources will go from rural areas (Image: Adam Gerrard / Daily Express)
Reform UK Sarah Pochin also sounded the alarm, saying: “Shabana Mahmood wants to drastically cut the number of police forces at a time when crime in this country is out of control. Centralising policing will inevitably suck resources from rural areas and towns into large cities.”
But Blair Gibbs of the Police Foundation think tank said: “New national policing structures could really help to improve the fight against serious crime.”
He added: “Having the National Crime Agency take over the lead for counter-terrorism from the Metropolitan Police is even more radical, but it is the right change. It would drastically expand the NCA’s role across UK policing and mean more investigators to pursue threats at home.”
David Spencer, head of crime and justice at the Policy Exchange think tank said: “Key to police reform will be how the Home Secretary holds chief constables to account for fighting the crime that matters to local people – shoplifting, phone theft and anti-social behaviour have all been on the rise and need to stop being seen as an afterthought by police chiefs.”
A spokesperson for the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said the present system is “fragmented and has turned policing into a postcode lottery for both the public and officers”. But the spokesperson cautioned the plan “will only work if it also fixes local policing”.