Sweeping reforms set to be unveiled on Monday aim to increase the visibility of police officers on the streets of England and Wales.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is expected to pledge a reduction in “red tape” and “unnecessary admin,” which she argues currently hinders officers from active duty outside stations.
The Home Secretary will also commit to improving emergency response times by establishing a national standard for 999 calls.
“People are reporting crimes and then waiting hours or even days for a response,” Mahmood stated.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp responded, stating that “it’s hard to take Labour’s promises seriously when they have stripped more than 1,300 officers from the front line in our communities”.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said the government “must deliver” on its promises and “get more officers back onto our streets”.
The proposed reforms would mandate police forces to respond to emergencies within 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural locations.
While many forces have existing response time targets, the Home Office has noted a lack of accountability for failures to meet these standards.
Under the plans, forces that consistently miss targets would receive intervention from experts from high-performing forces to facilitate improvements.
John Hayward-Cripps, chief executive of Neighbourhood Watch, characterized the new targets as a “welcome step forward” towards the “basic expectation that police will respond when you report a crime”.
Mahmood is also expected to address concerns over the current funding model, stating her intention to revise how staffing levels are funded. Critics contend that the existing ‘officer maintenance grant’ encourages some forces to assign uniformed officers to administrative roles like IT or human resources.
These targets form a key component of the government’s broader strategy for overhauling policing in England and Wales.
The government has already pre-announced several elements of these changes ahead of Monday’s official unveiling, including:
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce plans for police reform next week.
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is to replace the grant with ringfenced funding for neighbourhood officers.