Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to warn policing must reform or decline

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley will call for urgent policing reforms in England and Wales during a keynote speech in Manchester on Friday. Sir Mark’s proposals include reducing the number of forces from 43 to as few as eight, warning that the country faces a choice between policing reform or a decline in services. The speech, which will be followed by a panel discussion with four other chief constables, is expected to see Sir Mark warn that policing is overly reliant on the goodwill of its workforce to compensate for a system out of step with the realities of the crimes they tackle.

“I believe this is a choice between the third greatest revolution in British policing or the inevitable decline and fewer bobbies on the beat,” Sir Mark will say. The Commissioner will add that organised crime groups, fraud networks, online child abuse, cyber criminals and hostile states operate across regional, national and international borders, while policing remains organised around structures designed for a different age. A Devon and Cornwall police boat, at Turnchapel Wharf, in Plymouth, Devon (Ben Birchall/PA) PA Archive Sir Mark will argue that eight to 10 regional police forces across England and Wales should be supported by hundreds of local policing commands and a new National Police Service.

“The moments that define policing are the moments when it has the courage to change,” he will add. Sir Mark will propose that the change of structure would remove duplication that currently exists 43 times over, freeing up thousands of roles “and allow resources to be reinvested in frontline services”. In a comparison with the NHS, Sir Mark will argue that separate hospital services do not independently provide every specialist capability and that public safety should be organised in the same way.

The speech will also address a decrease in police funding – from around 0.9% of GDP to around 0.7% across England and Wales since 2010. “Policing has tried to keep up, made do as best it can to patch over our broken model,” he will say. “But the model is creaking. We have 43 overstretched forces trying to do too much, with too little.” A Metropolitan Police officer wearing handcuffs and a Pava spray on a belt (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Archive He is expected to say that the consequences include reduced officer visibility, stretched services and many victims waiting too long for justice.

Sir Mark will also argue that criminals, organised crime and and hostile states have changed and adapted, utilising improvements in technology, while the fundamental structures of British policing have largely remained stagnant. “The real danger is not change,” he will add. “The real danger is standing still.”