The new ‘British FBI’ and what it means for shoplifting and phone theft ...Middle East

A new nationwide police force will be launched to fight the most complex and serious crimes under new policing reforms.

The National Police Service (NPS) is being created in a bid to lift the burden on overstretched local forces and allow them to focus on catching local criminals.

It comes after the Government announced yesterday that, as part of the shake-up, every police officer in England and Wales will be required to hold a licence to be able to continue working.The i Paper takes a look at what impact the overhaul could have of different types of crime, such as shoplifting, phone theft and anti-social behaviour.

‘British FBI’ to take over counter-terror and fraud

It is proposed the counter-terror, fraud, criminal gang investigations and road policing will be taken over by the new force dubbed the “British FBI”.

City of London Police is currently responsible nationally for fraud, while Counter Terror Policing (CTP) is led by the Metropolitan Police.

The National Police Air Service is run by West Yorkshire Police and the National Roads Policing is overseen by National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

The proposals state the NPS will bring together the resources of the National Crime Agency (NCA), Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP), regional organised crime units, police helicopters and National Road Policing.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is set to reveal the reforms in a White Paper on Monday, which are also expected to include slashing the overall number of forces from their current level of 43.

Discussing the reforms, she said: “The current policing model was built for a different century.

“Some local forces lack the skills or resources they need to fight complex modern crime such as fraud, online child abuse or organised criminal gangs.

“We will create a new National Police Service – dubbed “the British FBI” – deploying world-class talent and state-of-the-art technology to track down and catch dangerous criminals.

“In doing so, local forces will be able to spend more time fighting crime in their communities.”

Crackdown on shoplifting and phone theft

The Government hopes creating the NPS will lift the burden on local police forces, who are believed to be having to juggle tackling common crimes like shoplifting and anti-social behaviour with national policing issues.

Under the plans, the NPS will be headed up by a National Police Commissioner who will become the most senior police chief in the country.

Once up and running it is hoped that it will set standards and training for policing and buy new technology, such as facial recognition, on behalf of all police forces.

The service would share technology, intelligence and resources across borders and be created in stages, working alongside the NCA, CTP and regional organised crime units.

A spokesperson for the Government said it is hoped the reforms will allow police officers “to focus on catching local criminals”.

They added the force “will attract world-class talent and use state-of-the-art technology to fight complex and serious crimes lifting the burden on overstretched local forces”.

What does the police think?

Officers in the City of London said they remained confident that they would keep their national responsibility for fraud under restructuring plans ahead of the announcement.

In a statement to Press Association, chair of the City of London Police Authority, Tijs Broeke, and City of London Police Commissioner and National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Cyber and Economic Crime, Pete O’Doherty, said they looked forward to “working constructively and collaborating with Government on its reform ambitions”.

They added: “While we have not yet seen the White Paper in full, we will consider it carefully when published and support reforms that aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of policing for victims.”

Former head of CTP Neil Basu, said it will be “far more capable as one national security system dealing more effectively with major crime, organised crime and terrorism in all its forms”.

Plans to introduce the new licence for police officers have been described as an “expensive, time-consuming, tick-box exercise” by the largest branch of the Police Federation of England and Wales.

The Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents more than 30,000 rank-and-file officers across London, said the Home Office plans for officers to hold and renew a licence to practice needed to be “properly discussed and debated”.

Licence plans have also drawn criticism from the general secretary of Metropolitan Police Federation, Matt Cane.

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In a statement, he said: “Officers in London will have more questions than they have answers on these proposals.

“We all want the highest standards in policing but we fear this will be an expensive, time-consuming, tick-box exercise and become bureaucratic and burdensome on the already stretched MPS (Metropolitan Police Service).

“The Metropolitan Police Federation can assure colleagues that we will be seeking answers to these many questions as the process proceeds.”

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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