U.K. Plans National Police Service To Centralize Major Investigations

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to create a National Police Service to take charge of counterterrorism, fraud, online child abuse and organised crime investigations, and she said she will unveil full proposals to Parliament on Monday, the government said.

The National Police Service would bring the work of the National Crime Agency, the National Air Service run by West Yorkshire Police, national roads policing run by Sussex Police and regional organised crime units under a single body, the Home Office said.

Senior policing figures offered mixed responses, with Graeme Biggar, director general of the National Crime Agency, backing the reforms, London's Metropolitan Police welcoming a single service, and the Police Federation warning that fewer forces 'doesn't guarantee more or better policing,' officials said.

The proposals would affect all 43 local police forces in England and Wales and ministers said the number of forces will be 'significantly' cut, with police chiefs having called for 12 'mega' forces and the government saying every officer would require a licence to practise and that scrapping police and crime commissioners in 2028 could save at least £100 million.

The Home Office said intelligence and procurement would be centralized and shared 'in stages,' and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners warned the reorganisation would be expensive and risk separating police from communities, according to APCC and Home Office statements.