Overview
- Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said on Sunday that reforms are overdue and the current structure is out of date, urging fewer forces to enable major investment in technology.
- In a joint op-ed, Rowley and National Police Chiefs' Council chair Gavin Stephens proposed reducing England and Wales to about 10–15 fully capable forces and pooling specialist functions to end duplication.
- The Daily Mail reported that ministers intend to outline related proposals in a Policing Reform White Paper later this month, with centralised systems and artificial intelligence among the recommendations.
- The chiefs say rationalising support services and specialist units could free capacity equivalent to thousands of officers and staff, boosting visible local policing.
- Unnamed insiders told the Mail the proposals would not cut rank-and-file roles, and context includes the 43-force model dating to 1964 and Scotland’s 2013 merger into Police Scotland.