Massive reform proposed for policing in England and Wales
The UK Government has launched a consultation that could fundamentally reshape how policing is organised across England and Wales.
The proposals, set out in a recent white paper, include merging police forces, creating new national policing structures, and reforming how standards, accountability and professional oversight operate across the service.
Described by ministers as the most significant reform to policing in decades, the consultation reflects growing concern that the current model is no longer well suited to the nature of modern crime. While local policing remains central to public confidence and community safety, the government argues that serious and organised crime, cybercrime and large-scale public disorder increasingly demand stronger national coordination and consistency.
What Is Being Proposed?
The current consultation stems from the reforms proposed in the government’s recent white paper, ‘From Local to National: A New Model for Policing'. The consultation proposes moving away from the current model of 43 territorial police forces - which operate largely independently. They reform would see a review of force boundaries, with the aim of reducing fragmentation and improving consistency by merging some existing police forces into larger regional or national structures.
Alongside this, the proposals include the creation of a National Police Service, which would bring together responsibility for serious and complex crime that already operates across force boundaries. This would consolidate functions that already operate across boundaries, such as for terrorism, cybercrime, and organised crime.
The intention is to create a clearer division between:
Local policing, focused on neighbourhood presence, response policing and community confidence
National and specialist policing, focused on threats that transcend local boundaries and require shared intelligence, specialist capability and coordinated response
Aside from restructuring, there are also proposals relating to professional standards, vetting practices and even the potential for a ‘Licence to Practise’ model for police offers.
The government argues that these measures are intended to address long-standing inconsistency in how suitability, misconduct and dismissal are handled across forces. At present, approaches to vetting and professional standards can vary significantly, contributing to uneven outcomes and ongoing concerns about accountability.
Under the proposals, individuals would be required to hold and maintain a licence throughout their career, with clear routes for that licence to be withdrawn where professional standards are not met.
At this stage, the proposals represent a framework for reform rather than a fixed blueprint. The consultation is intended to gather views on whether this model would improve effectiveness and stability.
Why is reform being proposed?
The case for reform set out in the white paper is rooted in a view that the current policing model has not kept pace with how crime — and public expectations — have changed.
Ministers argue that while the 43-force structure has strong local foundations, it can struggle to respond effectively to threats that are national in scale and complexity. Serious and organised crime, cybercrime, terrorism and large-scale public disorder routinely cross force boundaries, yet specialist capability and intelligence are often spread across multiple regional collaborations and national bodies.
In a letter to the policing workforce, the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the current system as one that has remained largely unchanged since the 1960s, despite the nature of crime evolving significantly in the decades since. The government’s position is that reform is needed to better align structures, workforce and technology with today’s demands.
Representative bodies have largely acknowledged the challenges the government is seeking to address, particularly around inconsistency between forces and the coordination of specialist policing capabilities.
At the same time, concerns have been raised about whether structural reform alone can deliver the outcomes being sought. In its response to the proposals, the Police Federation of England and Wales warned that mergers and national restructuring must be matched by sustained investment in skills, training and frontline capacity.
Commenting, Tiff Lynch, National Chair of the Police Federation said that reform must go beyond organisational charts, noting that:
“The case is clear for ending the postcode lottery of funding, policy and support for officers but fewer forces alone will not guarantee better policing. Skills, capabilities and equipment all need big investment.
“How this change is achieved will be crucial and the experience of police officers working at the sharp end must be heard and listened to.
“We are particularly concerned about the concept of a ‘licence to practise’. Everyone wants professional policing delivering more for communities, but that means investment in training, time and support. As things stand, training is routinely cancelled to plug gaps elsewhere in policing. These issues need to be fixed.”
If taken forward, the proposals would reshape how policing is coordinated and overseen across England and Wales, particularly in relation to specialist and cross-border crime. The government’s intention is to draw a clearer distinction between local policing delivery and national coordination of specialist capability.
The reforms would also introduce stronger national oversight, clearer performance expectations and more consistent professional standards across forces. However, all of this remains subject to consultation. No decisions have yet been taken on force mergers, structures or timelines, with responses set to inform what happens next.