The Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley used a speech in Manchester on Friday 6 November to call for a radical reorganisation of policing in England and Wales, proposing a reduction from 43 forces to eight to 10 regional ‘super-forces’ and a new National Police Service. Several elected mayors and police leaders, including Sadiq Khan who is understood to be concerned, warned the plan could threaten local accountability and neighbourhood policing.
Rowley delivered the address alongside four other chief officers and described it as the biggest reform of policing since the 1960s. He told the audience the current structure duplicates functions 43 times over, citing 43 headquarters, chiefs, deputies, IT directors and HR directors, and argued that change was needed to halt decline.
In the speech Sir Mark said positive outcomes nationally were now less than half what they were twelve years ago and that public confidence had fallen by nine per cent. He said spending on policing had fallen from around 0.9 per cent of GDP to around 0.7 per cent since 2010. Sir Mark said the choice was between ‘the third greatest revolution in British policing or the inevitable decline and fewer bobbies on the beat’.
Under Rowley’s proposals, a new National Police Service would support a smaller number of regional forces, each backed by hundreds of local policing commands. The commissioner argued this model would reduce duplication and allow forces to concentrate resources on frontline policing.
Immediate criticism from mayors and some police leaders
There was swift criticism from several mayors and police and crime commissioners. Liverpool city region mayor Steve Rotheram called the proposals ‘the wolf of centralisation dressed up in sheep’s clothing’. York and North Yorkshire mayor David Skaith described the plans as a ‘real threat’ to local policing and said he would ‘not be lectured’ by Sir Mark.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, is understood to be concerned that the changes could damage accountability and neighbourhood policing, with the Metropolitan Police potentially absorbing the smaller City of London force. That expectation about the City of London force is not presented as policy and remains uncertain.
Greater Manchester chief constable Stephen Watson backed reform, saying that failing to change would be ‘decline by design’. One unnamed mayor said they expected the Prime Minister to favour aligning forces with mayoral boundaries, a move that would roughly halve the number of forces.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a review in January, to be led by former Metropolitan commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe. That review has not yet been published and is understood to contain options ranging from nine to 18 larger forces. The contents of the review and the government response are therefore unconfirmed.
Questions over accountability and next steps
Opponents of the plan say a large-scale consolidation risks weakening local democratic oversight and the direct relationship between neighbourhoods and local commanders. Supporters argue a smaller number of larger forces would bring efficiency savings and better capability to tackle organised crime and cross-border threats.
The debate will now hinge on the unpublished review and any formal proposals from government. The review led by Bernard Hogan-Howe was commissioned earlier this year and remains awaited by elected officials and police leaders. Ministers have not yet set out how they propose to proceed or whether they favour the eight to 10 forces Sir Mark advocated.
Sir Mark’s intervention has escalated a long-running discussion about the structure of policing in England and Wales. Any move to reduce the number of forces would require detailed legislation and consultation, and would raise questions about local governance, funding and the future of small city forces.
For now the plans rest as a prominent call to action from the Metropolitan commissioner, met with a mixture of support from some police chiefs and resistance from mayors who say local accountability and neighbourhood policing must not be eroded.
