Police reform

The King’s Speech on 13 May confirmed the upcoming parliamentary programme and there is much for the emergency services to watch as police reform, NHS modernisation, fire safety and cyber resilience will see huge changes taking place.

Alison Dewhirst of CIPFA examines why strong financial leadership is critical to policing success, arguing that effective governance, strategic oversight and sustainable funding models are essential as forces confront rising demand, constrained budgets and ongoing reform across the UK policing landscape over the coming years and beyond current operational pressures.

The Home Office has published the terms of reference for the review of police structures which is part of the policing reform white paper.

Police forces need to see digital transformation not as an optional enhancement but as a prerequisite for effective policing which requires a collective and consistent commitment to its execution says a new report from CityForum.

The government has appointed former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe to chair an independent review into police force structures in England and Wales, as part of sweeping reforms set out in its Police Reform White Paper.

A new national service aims to tackle one of policing’s long-standing challenges, fragmented data held across individual force systems.

The Home Office has published its long-awaited white paper setting out a substantial overhaul of policing in England and Wales that will reduce the number of police forces, centralise functions under a National Police Commissioner, put more money into AI and see police officers compelled to achieve a ‘licence to practise.’

Days after the announcement that police and crime commissioners will be scrapped from 2028, the chair of the national PCC body said that the decision ‘risks chaos,’ criticising the lack of consultation.

The Policing Minister, Sarah Jones MP, told Parliament that Police and Crime Commissioners will be abolished in 2028 as she announced the first part of upcoming police reform.

Tom Gash, Managing Director of Leapwise, explores the urgent need to reshape England and Wales’ national policing framework. Drawing on global insights and lessons from the recently co-published policy paper ‘Fit for the Future: The Case for a Reformed National Policing Landscape’, he highlights the inefficiencies, duplication and frontline challenges stemming from the current system.