Britain's top police chiefs have issued a stark warning that the nation's policing model, designed in the 1960s, is now stretched beyond its limits and requires urgent, radical reform to combat modern crime.
A System Stretched to Breaking Point
Mike Rowley, a leading voice in the call for change, stated the current structure is fundamentally outdated. Crime, technology, and communities have transformed, but the system has not kept pace. The existing framework of 43 separate police forces, overlaid with complex regional collaborations and national units, creates significant inefficiency and drains capacity from the frontline.
This fragmentation severely undermines the ability to tackle both local community threats and global crime networks. Police leaders are united in their demand for change, not for bureaucratic tidiness, but because the present model prevents the public from receiving the visible, effective service they deserve.
The Blueprint for a Modern Police Service
The proposed solution is a streamlined structure built around 10 to 15 fully capable regional forces. These larger entities would be big enough to sustain vital specialist functions like murder investigations, firearms operations, and serious organised crime units consistently. Rationalising support services and specialist teams would, chiefs argue, eliminate costly duplication and release capacity equivalent to thousands of officers and staff back to frontline duties.
This new model would feature a strong national centre, closely integrated with international and intelligence partners, supported by these empowered regional forces. Local policing would remain rooted in empowered Basic Command Units, focused on their communities but with instant access to regional or national specialist assets when required.
Confronting 21st Century Threats
The need for reform is driven by the rapidly evolving nature of crime. The system struggles with fast-moving threats like public disorder, cybercrime, and hostile state activity. Chronic harms, including violence against women and girls, child abuse, and fraud, are increasingly propelled by online activity and sophisticated digital tools.
Cybercriminals and fraudsters are now responsible for over half of all reported offences. Organised crime groups exploit borders, technology, and global financial systems, with the drugs trade operating internationally. These are national and international threats that cannot be tackled effectively by a fragmented local approach.
A recent success against smartphone theft in London illustrates the potential of a more integrated approach. By aligning organised crime teams, response units, and neighbourhood officers, police dismantled a suspected international smuggling gang. This network is believed to have trafficked up to 40,000 stolen phones – roughly 40% of all devices taken in London – from the UK to China in just one year.
Modernising Tools and Workforce
Reform must also modernise the tools available to officers. For too long, technology investment has been sacrificed to maintain headcount. Officers waste hours on administrative tasks that should take minutes. Implementing modern digital tools, real-time data systems, and better mapping would give local teams more time in their communities.
The future workforce needs to blend traditional neighbourhood officers with cyber specialists, forensic experts, and analysts to prevent more harm and respond faster. Police chiefs stress that action need not wait for new legislation; forces can start now by reducing duplication, standardising best practice, and co-investing in technology.
The wider criminal justice system must also keep pace. Lengthy delays and bureaucracy are undermining victims' confidence and wasting countless officer hours. The system must be quicker, less bureaucratic, and should empower police to charge more offences directly to protect communities.
The ultimate aims are clear: resilient local policing that makes people feel safer, a national force capable of meeting complex threats, reduced waste, and a service fully empowered by modern technology. Sixty years on from the last major changes, the message from police chiefs is unequivocal: act swiftly or risk systemic failure.
