Policing model 'no longer fit for purpose'

The current policing model is "no longer fit for purpose", a Wolverhampton MP has warned after an overhaul of the system was announced last month.

Labour MP Sureena Brackenridge said police officers were currently tackling "21st Century crimes under a 19th Century model" and reform was needed to "move resources into front line policing".

Home Office reforms include a new National Police Service (NPS) to fightcomplex cross-border crime and a reduction in the number of local forces in England and Wales by about two-thirds.

Brackenridge said that "complex issues" in Wolverhampton, covered by West Midlands Police, such as county line drugs gangs "didn't stop at county line borders".

"What we've got is fractured and scattered resources across the country and this is going to help free up forces to focus on local policing needs," she said.

As part of the changes, the Home Office is funding 40 more Live Facial Recognition vans after the technology proved successful in South Wales and London, making them available in all parts of England and Wales.

Residents in smaller towns and villages have raised concerns about the lack of local police stations in the area, according to Worcestershire County Councillor David Taylor.

He said he was worried about the "lack of transparency" surrounding the new policing model but hoped there would be benefits such as shared intelligence.

"Having these super centres, you're more likely to have resource sucked into areas. People want to see local [police officers], they want to be able to contact their local bobby," Taylor added.

The Reform councillor said people were concerned about the lack of consequences for anti-social behaviour, theft and burglary, and there hadn't been improvements made.

"I had a poll on Facebook and the same concerns that people had this year were the same concerns they had 10 years ago," he said.

Home Office sources said reducing the number of forces will not make policing less local, and its focus is on reducing duplication and the huge disparities in performance between forces.

National Police Chiefs' Council chairman Gavin Stephen said having a national police service in the form of the NPS would consolidate money and decision making, and was "really important".

"You've got rapidly changing new technologies which show huge promise, then you can't get them rolled out because there are too many decision makers in the system," he said.

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