Police officers in England and Wales are set to spend more time patrolling communities under major policing reforms to be unveiled by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on Monday.
Mahmood says she will cut red tape and unnecessary paperwork that keep officers tied to desks instead of out on the streets. She will also introduce national standards for emergency response times, aiming to ensure quicker answers to 999 calls after complaints that victims are waiting hours or even days for help.
Under the proposals, police forces would be expected to respond to emergency calls within 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural communities. While many forces already set their own targets, the new plan would make them accountable, with intervention from high-performing forces if response times are repeatedly missed.
Mahmood said the reforms are about restoring public confidence, adding that people expect the police to show up promptly when crimes are reported. She also plans to review police funding rules, arguing that the current system sometimes encourages forces to use trained officers in administrative roles rather than frontline policing.
The plans have drawn mixed reactions. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp questioned Labour’s credibility, claiming the party has reduced frontline officer numbers.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson said the government must now deliver on its promises to get officers back on the streets.
Neighbourhood Watch welcomed the proposals, calling faster response times a basic expectation of modern policing. The reforms form part of wider changes to policing structures, including a shift towards more national coordination on serious and organised crime, as the government seeks to modernise policing across England and Wales.
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