Police Reform

Channel 4 and 5 reported that Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley was backing or calling for major reforms to policing in England and Wales, saying current structures were overstretched and at risk of failure without change. Channel 4 reported that he supported government plans to merge the 43 separate forces into eight super forces and would warn in a speech later that day that the system faced failure without sweeping changes. 5 reported that he told police chiefs in Manchester the system needed urgent restructuring, warning that policing would fail and that standing still would let criminals win.

5 gave more detail on the proposed structure: a national police service covering terrorism, fraud and organised crime and overseeing technology, with regional forces cut from around 43 to around nine super forces dealing with murder, drugs and county lines. It said savings would go to local policing teams, with targets on 999 calls and response times and 13,000 more neighbourhood and community support officers. 5 also reported criticism that creating mega forces would cost millions, take policing further from communities and had not been shown to improve safety. Channel 4 and 5 differed on the number of proposed super forces, with Channel 4 reporting eight and 5 reporting around nine.