![](https://emergencyservicestimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ESS-Button-resized.png")
A dedicated government unit to improve performance across policing and make our streets safer will be announced by the Home Secretary later today.
In a speech at the annual conference hosted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and Association for Police and Crime Commissioners, Yvette Cooper will outline the new unit as part of a roadmap for major reform that will create a new partnership between the Home Office and police.
To ensure communities can have confidence in their local police force, the unit will harness national data to monitor performance and direct improvements, building on the existing work of the College of Policing, policing inspectorate (HMICFRS), NPCC and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs).
For the first time in over a decade, a dedicated Home Office unit will be introduced to directly monitor police performance, including in high-priority areas such as tackling violence against women and girls, knife crime and improving neighbourhood policing.
Officer time spent on the frontline will be monitored as part of the intelligence drive, drawing on local police data. Police response times will also be standardised and measured, a key issue for the public that is currently not consistently monitored and managed.
The Home Office will use police-recorded data on child sexual abuse to help forces understand and tackle the hidden harms in their areas. This will support forces in identifying how they can do more to build victim confidence, draw offending out of the shadows and bring perpetrators to justice.
There will also be a focus on police standards, with data on misconduct, vetting and disciplinary procedures collected, monitored and acted on to ensure forces are rooting out those who are not fit to serve and help restore the public’s trust in their local officers.
With a more comprehensive picture of how policing is delivering for its communities, the Home Secretary will take a more hands-on approach to driving improvements, working with policing partners to ensure that the appropriate support, and where necessary, direct intervention is being identified and delivered.
The new performance unit will complement the current system, with PCCs taking on a renewed focus on strengthening local policing and preventing crime in their areas.
The Home Secretary is expected to set out her vision for policing, and how this focus on data and performance is just part of an ambitious programme to bring the founding principles of policing by consent and preventing crime to the 21st Century.
The need for reform has the backing of police leaders, with the government committed to working with them to bring the change needed to reconnect policing with the communities they serve. It builds on a government manifesto commitment to give the policing inspectorate (HMICFRS) greater powers to intervene in failing forces and on the important work that they, the College of Policing and PCCs are doing to boost standards and drive improvement.
‘Police forces have failed to get the basics right’
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said that, despite efforts to rebuild public trust, too many victims of crime continue to be let down.
“In my latest ‘State of Policing’ report, I made clear that police forces have failed to get the basics right when it comes to responding to the public and investigating crime. Today I welcome the commitment of the Home Secretary to put neighbourhood policing firmly at the heart of the reforms.
“Never has it been more important for forces to adapt to the world in which we now live, with their current structures put in place over half a century ago. They are dealing with inexperienced workforces, and their officers are struggling with high workloads and low morale.
“Forces need greater direction and decision-making, and the right funding in place. These need to be supported by a data-driven and preventative approach to enable them to get a grip on their performance. The new Police Performance Framework and Unit will be crucial to improving and upholding standards across the board.”
Andy Cooke, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary
Emergency Services Times Editor, Catherine Levin, will be at today’s NPCC annual conference, so expect to see more information on this story in coming days.
To read similar articles, check out our Leadership channel