Home Secretary announces major policing reforms

An ambitious programme of reform to policing has been unveiled by the UK's Home Secretary, marking the start of a new partnership between government and policing.

Above: Home Secretary Yvette Cooper speaking at the annual conference hosted by the NPCC and APCC.
Courtesy Home Office

In her first major speech at the annual conference hosted by the National Police Chiefs' Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the Home Secretary set out her plans to deliver major policing reforms, including:

a new Police Performance Unit to track national data on local performance and drive up standards
a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to get policing back to basics and rebuild trust between local forces and the communities they serve
a new National Centre of Policing to harness new technology and forensics, making sure policing is better equipped to meet the changing nature of crime

The Home Secretary also announced more than half a billion pounds of additional central government funding for policing next year to support the government's Safer Streets Mission, including an increase in the core grant for police forces and extra resources for neighbourhood policing, the NCA and counter-terrorism. A full breakdown of the funding will be published as part of the police settlement in December.

In her speech, the Home Secretary said that without a major overhaul to increase public confidence, the British tradition of policing by consent will be in peril.

The reforms will restore community patrols with a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee and an enhanced role for Police and Crime Commissioners to prevent crime. The changes will also ensure that policing has the national capabilities it needs to fight fast-changing, complex crimes which cut across police force boundaries.

This is part of a strategic reset in the relationship between government and policing, with the Home Office taking a more active role in working with policing leaders to drive improvements and ensure policing is set up to succeed rather than frustrated by weak national structures.

To drive excellence across policing, the Home Secretary and police system leaders will establish a new National Centre of Policing. While work is underway to determine the scope and scale of the unit, it is expected to include specialist and supportive functions like forensics, aviation and IT, which have become fragmented and underpowered over the last decade. National arrangements on procurement will also generate savings to reinvest into frontline policing.

A new Police Performance Framework will be drawn up between policing and the Home Office to make sure standards are upheld across the country. This meets a long-standing recommendation of the police inspectorate and has the support of the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs' Council.

This framework will be underpinned by a new Police Performance Unit in the Home Office, using data to determine force-level improvements and end the postcode lottery on standards.

The Home Office will create a new central database of high-quality force-level data tracking local performance in priority areas like knife crime and violence against women and girls. Ministers will work in collaboration with the College of Policing, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and PCCs to ensure there is effective intervention when forces are failing.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Public confidence is the bedrock of our British policing model but in recent years it has been badly eroded, as neighbourhood policing has been cut back and as outdated systems and structures have left the police struggling to keep up with a fast-changing criminal landscape.

"That's why we're determined to rebuild neighbourhood policing, to improve performance across police forces and to ensure the highest standards are being upheld across the service.

"The challenge of rebuilding public confidence is a shared one for government and policing. This is an opportunity for a fundamental reset in that relationship, and together we will embark on this roadmap for reform to regain the trust and support of the people we all serve and to reinvigorate the best of policing."

The reform agenda has the backing of police leaders, with the government committed to working in lockstep with them to rebuild trust between the police and the communities they serve. The work will be set out in a white paper, due to be published in the spring, ahead of legislation in due course.

Chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council Gavin Stephens said: "We're encouraged to hear the Home Secretary's plans for policing reform and look forward to working with government and our partner agencies to determine how best we can shape the future of our service.

"At our joint summit with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners this week, I'll be giving more detail on our vision and ambitions, keeping communities at the heart of all that we do."

Chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Emily Spurrell said: "We welcome the Home Secretary's renewed focused on data and standards as part of reforms to provide a better service to the public. Not only will this help to shine a light on where there are issues of concern, but also highlight best practice.

"Successful innovation often starts at a local level, led by Chief Constables and PCCs, before being taken up nationally. Identifying promising initiatives early and then working with policing to improve national take up will be greatly assisted by improved data. Likewise, where there are failings, the Home Office, PCCs, the College of Policing and the policing inspectorate should be working together using data to drive improvement and reassure the public.

"We look forward to working with the government and policing colleagues to design a performance standards unit which helps policing deliver more effectively in an ever more complex environment."

Dr Rick Muir, Director of the Police Foundation, and Tom Gash, Managing Director of the public sector consultancy Leapwise are today publishing a joint report supporting the police reform agenda and setting out further reform options.

Dr Rick Muir, Director of the Police Foundation, said: "A serious reform programme like this in policing is long overdue.

"Too often in the past, officers at the frontline have been let down by outdated technology, inadequate training and inefficient support services.

"Until these issues are addressed, the public won't get the quality of policing they deserve."