Police chief 'cautiously optimistic' about reforms

The chief constable of one of England's largest police forces has told the BBC he is "cautiously optimistic" about government plans to reform policing.

The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, announced a blueprint for reforming what she called the "broken" policing model in England and Wales on Monday.

Among the schemes outlined in the 106-page white paper are plans to cut the number of local forces by about two-thirds.

Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg said he felt the force "provides a template for what police reform would look like".

"For some time, chief constables nationally have been lobbying the government to look at the force structures," Hogg explained.

"I certainly think there are too many police forces and we can be more efficient and effective if we worked together and had less forces."

Thames Valley Police is England's largest non-metropolitan force, and employs more than 9,000 people.

"We're already doing really well as a big force, and I think many other police forces have a lot to learn about some of the good practice we have here," Hogg said.

He said the force would be working with the home secretary to "help support and develop" the government's plans.

"I will be saying 'Come to the Thames Valley, look at what we already have, we're already a big force, we're already covering a vast area of geography, look at how it's working for us'," he said.

On Monday, Mahmood told Parliament that the proposals represented "the most significant changes to policing in this country in nearly 200 years".

As part of the plans, a new National Police Service would be established to fight the most complex cross-border crime.

Live Facial Recognition vans will also be made available in all parts of England and Wales.

But Hogg said if the reforms were "going to be effective", then they had to be "about more than structure".

"My officers face crippling amounts of bureaucracy and are stuck behind desks, and I would encourage the home secretary to support us with that," he said.

"I want more officers on the streets, fighting crime and arresting criminals which is exactly what the people want."

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.