Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a nationwide rollout of live facial recognition technology alongside the most significant policing reforms in two centuries. The plans represent a fundamental restructuring of law enforcement in England and Wales, described by the Home Secretary as addressing policing as "the last great unreformed public service."
Expansion of Facial Recognition Capabilities
Under the new proposals, every police force across the country will gain access to live facial recognition vans, with the existing fleet of 10 vehicles expanding to 50 nationwide. These mobile units will be deployed to identify criminals on police watchlists as they move through public spaces.
The technology will be overseen by a newly established national centre for artificial intelligence called Police.AI, which will receive £115 million in funding over the next three years. This centre aims to ensure responsible use of the technology while freeing officers from administrative burdens.
Regulatory Framework and Privacy Considerations
A public consultation is currently underway to determine how facial recognition should be regulated and how to protect citizens' privacy rights. The national rollout will align with standards already implemented by the Metropolitan Police, who have been using similar technology.
Currently, the legal basis for facial recognition use remains fragmented, drawing from common law, data protection legislation, and human rights laws. The government intends to create clearer regulatory frameworks through forthcoming legislation.
Creation of a National Police Service
The facial recognition expansion forms part of broader reforms outlined in the Government's White Paper on police restructuring. The centrepiece of these changes is the creation of a "British FBI" called the National Police Service (NPS), which will merge several existing national policing bodies.
The NPS will combine the National Crime Agency, Counter Terror Policing, the National Police Air Service, and National Roads Policing into a single organisation focused on tackling serious and organised crime, including terrorism. Work to establish this elite national service will begin this year, with completion expected in the next parliamentary term.
Regional Force Consolidation
In parallel with creating the NPS, the number of regional police forces in England and Wales will be "significantly reduced" from the current 43. A review this summer will determine the exact number of mergers, with implementation expected before the next general election.
Under the new structure, larger regional forces will be divided into local areas corresponding with cities, towns, and boroughs. The government proposes that every local council ward will have its own contactable police officer to maintain community connections.
Accountability and Performance Measures
The reforms introduce substantial changes to police accountability and standards. A new "licence to practice" will be required for all police officers, while the Home Secretary will gain powers to dismiss underperforming chief constables and intervene in failing forces.
Additionally, the roles of police and crime commissioners will be abolished by 2028, with their functions absorbed into the new policing structure.
Political and Union Responses
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticised the consolidation plans, warning that "huge forces will be remote from the communities they serve" and that "resources will be drawn away from villages and towns towards large cities." He cited potential mergers creating forces covering areas from Dover to Milton Keynes or from Penzance to Swindon.
Unison national officer for policing Ben Priestley emphasised that effective reform requires "significant investment," noting that forces face a £1 billion budget shortfall by 2027. "Mergers are expensive and won't bring about short-term savings," he cautioned, calling for reassurances that local services and democratic accountability won't be weakened.
Local Concerns and Opposition
Several police and crime commissioners slated for removal in 2028 have voiced strong opposition to the plans. Hertfordshire PCC Jonathan Ash-Edwards warned that "huge regional police forces will be slower to respond, less interested in local priorities, harder to hold to account and more likely to divert resources away from neighbourhood policing."
His Surrey counterpart, Lisa Townsend, described any merger as "a disaster" that would divert resources from the county and restrict local residents' ability to influence policing decisions. "By placing all the power and decision-making in the hands of only two people, my fear is that local accountability will be lost," she stated.
Implementation Timeline
The government plans to introduce these reforms in stages, with some elements requiring new legislation. The facial recognition van rollout will proceed alongside the structural changes, creating what Home Secretary Mahmood described as "a transformation in the structures of our forces, the standards within them and the means by which they are held to account by the public."
These comprehensive changes represent the most substantial overhaul of British policing in approximately 200 years, balancing technological advancement with structural consolidation amid concerns about local accountability and resource allocation.
