Shabana Mahmood has hinted at a major overhaul of the police as she hit out at the “irrational” structure of 43 forces in England and Wales.
In her first speech to police chiefs since her appointment, the home secretary warned the current system is creating a “postcode lottery” for the public.
A white paper is due to be published in the coming weeks outlining government plans for police reform, with forces facing a £1.2 billion budget shortfall.
Appearing to signal change is on the cards, she told a conference of police leaders “the structure of our police forces, if is, if we are honest, irrational”.
“We have loaded critical functions like the national police air service and vetting onto local forces, drawing attention away from neighbourhood policing,” she said.
“We have 43 forces tackling criminal gangs who cross borders, and the disparities in performance enforces across the country have grown far too wide, giving truth to the old saw that policing in this country is a postcode lottery.”
She said the adoption of new technology is “piecemeal” and that many forces are dependent on the same systems that have been used for decades.
Ms Mahmood said the government’s upcoming white paper will set out her plans – including the creation of a new National Centre for Policing first announced last year – and “wider police reform”.
“The detail will follow,” she added. “But to give you a sense of direction, I was a reformer at the Ministry of Justice. I will be a reformer at the Home Office too.
“And I will be driven, above all else, by performance that will provide the right level of scrutiny and accountability without ever stepping into operational independence, which ensures that all of you can police expertly without fear or favour.”
Ms Mahmood also told delegates at the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) Annual Summit in Westminster that police “should not be policing perfectly legal language in any individual’s tweets”.
It follows a series of free speech rows, including the arrest of Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan over his posts on social media platform X.
Last week, the home secretary announced that the former director of public prosecutions Lord MacDonald will review the use of police powers around protests and social media.
This will also include the crossover between these powers and “how we police the online world”, Ms Mahmood said.
“Clearly, there have been egregious examples of disproportionate arrests,” she said.
“Where necessary, we will legislate to clarify what is inside and outside the law, but we must also be honest, some of these recent arrests raise questions around police decision making.
“So let me state my position on the issue. Clearly, the public rightly expect that we police our streets. There is most certainly criminality online.
“Some things cannot be legally tweeted, just as they cannot be legally said, but we should not be policing perfectly legal language in any individual’s tweets.”
