Calls for move away from police structure designed in the early 1960s

A new national police body should be set up to move the service on from a model designed in the 1960s before the internet and mobile phones, chief officers have said.

Chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Gavin Stephens told a conference in Westminster there are too many decision makers in the current structure of 43 geographical forces in England and Wales, that leads to inertia.

He told delegates at the policing summit: “The world around us has changed beyond recognition yet we remain rooted in a system designed in the early 1960s, before mobile phones, the internet, even the M25 which came along two decades later.”

Mr Stephens went on: “We need to redefine who’s accountable at which level for which issues, as at present there are too many decision makers, which leads to inertia, indecision or as I’ve heard it described, undecision.”

UK police chiefs are looking at countries including Australia, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands and Denmark as models for a new structure, and have been in discussions for a year over the plans.

“We’ve now outlined the need for a national policing directorate with legal status that could lead the policing response to national threats and act as a focal point for working with governments, businesses and civil society groups on long-term prevention, negotiating better commercial deals for all of us, providing the technology and equipment that enables our local teams to succeed in the modern world,” Mr Stephens said.

In a speech at the same event, the Home Secretary said she foresees a national body taking responsibility for IT, forensics and the police air service, but that this may be expanded in the future.

The Metropolitan Police currently has national responsibility for counter-terrorism policing, and City of London Police is the lead for fraud.

Yvette Cooper also said that public confidence in policing has been “badly eroded” in recent years and outlined reforms to offer a “fundamental reset” in the relationship between policing and government.

She confirmed more than half a billion pounds of additional funding from central government next year to neighbourhood policing, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and counter-terrorism.

Police forces will be “compensated” for the rise in employer national insurance contributions separately from the funding boost.

The Home Office said the reforms include a new national centre of policing to “harness new technology and forensics” and a government performance unit to “drive force-level improvements and end the postcode lottery on law and order”.

But Mr Stephens said chief constables will argue against any return to league tables, saying: “A simplistic league table approach only takes you so far.”

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said forces had “failed to get the basics right” when responding to the public and investigating crime.

Mr Cooke added: “Despite efforts to rebuild public trust, too many victims of crime continue to be let down.

“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.

“Police forces cannot be allowed to fail, but they need the right support to enable them to become more efficient and effective.”

Ms Cooper set out her plans on Tuesday 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 Office said a new police performance framework will be drawn up to “make sure standards are upheld across the country”.

The department added that the reforms would “restore community patrols with a neighbourhood policing guarantee” and involve an “enhanced role for police and crime commissioners to prevent crime”.

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

Ms 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.”

She told journalists after her speech that an increase of 13,000 neighbourhood officers, including police community support officers and specials, will take time.

The number of people who say they never see an officer out on the beat has doubled in the past 14 years and this has damaged confidence, she added.

Ms Cooper said: “When the proportion of people who say they never see the police on the beat has doubled since 2010 that’s had a really big impact on confidence.

“That has a really big impact on those kinds of local crimes, like town centre crime in particular.

“So that’s why we’re so determined to get neighbourhood police back onto the beat, back into communities.

“But we do recognise that it will take time.”

The policing reforms will be set out in a White Paper, due to be published in the spring.

A full breakdown of the additional funding will be published as part of the police settlement in December.