The UK government is preparing to introduce the most far-reaching overhaul of policing in England and Wales in more than 200 years, with forces set to be ranked against national performance targets and failing chiefs facing removal under new Home Office powers.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will unveil the reforms in Parliament on Monday, setting out plans to impose centrally controlled benchmarks on emergency response times, crime detection rates, victim satisfaction and public confidence. The results will be published on a public dashboard, allowing communities to compare the performance of their local force with others across the country.
National Targets Return
The return of nationally set targets marks a major policy shift. Similar systems introduced under the Labour government in the 2000s were scrapped in 2011 by the Conservative-led coalition, which argued that league tables distorted priorities and encouraged box-ticking. The new government says the absence of consistent national accountability has allowed uneven standards and weak performance to persist.
Under the proposals, forces that consistently fall short could be publicly named, while high-performing areas would be used as models for best practice.
Direct Intervention Powers
The Home Office will also gain authority to deploy specialist “improvement teams” into underperforming forces. For example, units with poor crime-clearance rates could receive support from forces with stronger investigative records. More significantly, the home secretary will have the power to remove chief constables judged to be failing.
Abolition of Police and Crime Commissioners
The reforms will also accelerate the planned abolition of elected police and crime commissioners (PCCs) by 2028. Since 2011, PCCs have set local policing priorities and budgets, while operational control rested with chief constables. Labour’s new model shifts accountability back to central government, arguing that national oversight is essential to restore public trust and consistent standards.
Force Mergers and Restructuring
A separate review will examine the future structure of the 43 territorial forces in England and Wales. Senior officers have long argued that the current system is fragmented and inefficient in tackling serious and organised crime. While no specific number will be announced immediately, policing leaders have previously suggested reducing the total to around 12–15 larger regional forces.
However, there is resistance in some areas. Recent polling in Devon and Cornwall found two-thirds of residents opposed to joining a larger regional force, highlighting concerns that local identity and neighbourhood policing could be diluted.
Political and Professional Reaction
While many senior officers support clearer national leadership, some warn that league tables risk creating perverse incentives and shifting focus from long-term crime prevention to short-term target chasing. Others question whether larger merged forces would necessarily deliver better outcomes, pointing to evidence that smaller forces sometimes achieve higher detection rates.
Shabana Mahmood said the reforms were designed to “drive up standards, restore confidence and ensure the public can hold their police to account through Parliament”. The government insists the new framework will strengthen neighbourhood policing while giving ministers the tools to step in where performance is failing.
The proposals, set out in a white paper titled From Local to National: A New Model for Policing, signal a decisive move away from localised control towards a centrally driven system aimed at delivering uniform crime-fighting standards across England and Wales.