![](https://emergencyservicestimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ESS-Button-resized.png")
In the latest annual report on the state of policing, HMICFRS says that it supports police reform as it will strengthen the system, but the complexity of that change needs the government to listen to diverse views, manage the risk and ensure it is properly funded.
The Police Reform White Paper set out a raft of changes that will have a profound impact on policing in England and Wales. Reflecting on that reform, HMI Michelle Skeer says that the creation of a National Police Service to oversee it will be ‘exceptionally complex.’
In the only annual report into policing to come from Michelle Skeer as she steps down from her role as interim Chief HMI later this year, she takes a good look at the reform and provides a thoughtful perspective on how it will pan out.
She warns that it should be done in stages, ‘introduced thoughtfully’ and minimise the risks during the transition period. It is not a task to be done top down, rather it should involve all police interests including the chiefs and local politicians. And, she adds: “The government must also give us appropriate inspection powers to subject the NPS to a rigorous and independent inspection regime.”
Elsewhere in the 56-page report, she looks at the structure of policing and the work that the Home Secretary commissioned Lord Hogan-Howe to carry out. Yet to be published, the structure review has seen plenty of consultation take place and while HMICFRS hasn’t set out its view on the optimal number of forces, HMI Skeer says it’s not all about size.
“The review will also consider the design of the proposed Local Policing Areas in the new model, governance arrangements, implementation, including minimising operational disruption, and the forces best suited to merge first.”
She says that forces are struggling to meet demand and maintain “specialist capabilities to deal with complex threats” and that there isn’t a consistent level of service across the country. The 43-force model is under significant scrutiny with the HMI report saying that forces could try to make improvements but under the current model isn’t ‘promoting efficiency or effectiveness.’ She notes: “It would be hard to argue that if a structure for policing in England and Wales were being designed today, it would lead to the existing 43-force structure.” This has been in place since changes to the law in 1964.
“Fewer, larger forces should improve resilience, provide more reliable access to specialist capabilities, reduce duplication and make national co-ordination easier.”
Concerns about financial stability compound this with HMI adding that the funding model is outdated. Overall, she notes, the evidence points to a system under “increasing strain that must change dramatically before its weaknesses lead to further decline in efficiency and effectiveness.”
Unsurprisingly, when reporting the views of the Police and Crime Commissioners on the changes (before their role is abolished in May 2028), they told HMI that they are against force mergers and the plans to change local police governance.
The Annual State of Policing provides commentary on other major areas of police reform including the report from the Leadership Commission and its own Policing Performance System where police forces have been assigned a level between one and four, where four show significant performance issues.
To read the report in full – State of Policing: The Annual Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2025–26.
To read similar articles, check out our Leadership channel.
