Met chief warns policing faces ‘inevitable decline’ without radical overhaul

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner will warn that policing in England and Wales faces an “inevitable decline” unless forces undergo a major structural overhaul. In a landmark intervention, Sir Mark Rowley is expected to argue that the current model of 43 separate police forces is no longer equipped to tackle increasingly complex threats including organised crime, online fraud, cyber offending and child exploitation. In a landmark speech in Manchester alongside four other police chiefs, the Met boss will back proposals to replace the existing system with between eight and ten regional forces.

The merged forces will be supported by hundreds of local policing commands and a new National Police Service responsible for tackling serious organised crime and counter-terrorism. Sir Mark will say the current system is burdened by duplication and bureaucracy, preventing officers from focusing on frontline duties. “The model is creaking,” he is expected to say. “We have 43 overstretched forces trying to do too much, with too little. “This is a choice between the third greatest revolution in British policing or the inevitable decline and fewer bobbies on the beat.”

“The moments that define policing are the moments when it has the courage to change. The real danger is not change. The real danger is standing still.” England and Wales are currently divided into 43 policing areas, including the Met Police to cover most of London, the City of London Police, 37 other police forces in England and another four in Wales. The proposed reforms were developed as part of a government-commissioned review led by former Met commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe, which has yet to be published.

The intervention comes amid continuing concerns over police finances, with Sir Mark warning this week that the Met remains under pressure from the cost of policing protests, major events and football matches alongside day-to-day crime. The Commissioner added the force had lost around 4,000 staff and remained hundreds of millions of pounds short of the funding required to meet the capital’s unique policing demands. Police reform is understood to be backed by ministers.

In January, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood wrote that the current model, “nearly unchanged in 60 years, is no longer fit for purpose.” She added: “Some forces are too small to handle complex investigations or major incidents. Sir Mark’s speech will come a day after he and the Mayor of London sparred with members of the London Assembly over City Hall’s record on tackling crime in the capital. The Met Police Commissioner said that the force have not been given enough resources to deal with extra pressures in London compared to other regions, such as regular major protests and football games.

“We’ve shrunk by 4,000 in our headcount – that is very challenging (especially when) we are facing increasingly complex reports of crime. That is primarily caused by financial pressure, decisions of successive Chancellors over many years have created this pressure. “One of the biggest challenges in this is the absence of sufficient provision for capital responsibilities – all the extra work the Met does on top of day-to-day policing, such as protests and major events.

“It is several hundred million short (of what we need). We need that money to be able to police London properly..” Challenged by City Hall Conservatives leader Susan Hall over officer numbers, the Mayor blamed the previous Tory government for the Met Police budget shortfall and claimed the new Labour administration had boosted funds significantly. However, he admitted that it will take time to get back to previous funding levels. “There’s been difficult choices since 2007 – that’s why the previous Mayor had to close down police stations,” Sir Sadiq noted.

“In the last three years, we’ve had an extra £373million from central government – a nine-fold increase. Although it’s great, it’s not enough to replenish the loss of the previous 14 years.”