SPECIAL FEATURE


POLICE REFORM: PROPOSED vs CONCERNS


The Government recently presented in Parliament a white paper, From local to national: a new model for policing, outlining radical restructuring, national standards and welfare measures. However, the PFEW has identified several areas which require immediate attention to ensure reforms are effective


The Home Secretary has published a white paper that, if enacted in full, would represent the most significant overhaul of policing in decades. In scale and ambition it would eclipse reforms seen over the last 60 years. The proposals have been described as “brave” and “radical” and as “a leap in the dark”. Below the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) sets out what the white paper contains and explain how the PFEW views the changes and what they would mean for members.


04 | POLICE | FEBRUARY | 2026


WHAT A WHITE PAPER IS AND WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED


“Inconsistencies in how 43 forces interpret policy directly impact our members and, bluntly, too many police officers have, to use our campaign’s terminology, Copped Enough.”


A white paper is a statement of intent. It sets out the Government’s proposed direction of travel, explains the problems it seeks to address and the objectives


behind planned reforms and invites consultation before any final decisions are taken or legislation introduced. The white paper on policing runs to more than 100-pages and contains a package of measures that, taken together, would fundamentally reshape policing in England and Wales.


At the heart of the proposals is a radical restructuring of the police landscape: reducing the current 43 forces to roughly 10–12 larger forces. Alongside


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