Shabana Mahmood declares police AI revolution and British FBI in enormous shake-up
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the use of facial recognition will be ramped up and police forces will be axed in the biggest policing shake-up in 200 years
Use of facial recognition will be ramped up, Shabana Mahmood said(Image: Getty Images)
Shabana Mahmood has unveiled the biggest policing shake-up in two centuries – with an AI revolution and forces slashed.
The Home Secretary said changes were long overdue, claiming the current structure is not fit for purpose. Facial recognition will be rolled out across England and Wales, with a five-fold increase in vans, Ms Mahmood confirmed. Writing for The Mirror, she said: “We’ve got great police officers across this country.
“We’ve got policing leaders who are bold and effective. But we’ve got a policing system that isn’t serving them, and isn’t serving the public. So, it’s time we changed.”
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Under the plans, a ‘British FBI’ – the National Poilice Service (NPS) – will be created to focus on putting Britain’s most dangerous criminals and terrorists behind bars. A white paper published yesterday(MON) committed the Government to cutting the number of forces – but did not say how many will be axed.
Ms Mahmood said neighbourhood policing would be bulked up, with chief constables able to focus on crimes like shoplifting, drug dealing and anti-social behaviour. She told MPs: “Today we have we have policing happening in the wrong places.
“We have local forces responsible for national policing, distracting them from policing their communities. And at the same time, we have forces of various shapes and sizes with quality varying widely force by force.
“This government’s reforms will ensure we have the right policing happening in the right place.”
Ms Mahmood said artificial intelligence tools, such as facial recognition, will be rolled out, with a new national centre on AI to be created. The Government will plough £140million to roll out technologies to catch wanted murderers and rapists.
Artificial intelligence tools will also free up officers from paperwork, meaning they can be deployed to public-facing duties, the Government says. The Home Secretary said: “When the future arrives, there are always doubters. 100 years ago, fingerprinting was decried as curtailing our civil liberties. But today we could not imagine policing without it.
“I have no doubt the same will prove true of facial recognition technology in the years to come.”
Police officers will have to have a licence to practice, and regional crime hubs will be set up to smash crimes including drug networks, firearms supply and child sexual abuse. Forces will also have 999 response times – with the Home Office given greater powers to send crack squads in to deal with failure.
Ms Mahmood told the Commons: “Taken together, these are, without question, major reforms.
“A transformation in the structures of our forces, the standards within them and the means by which they are held to account by the public, these are the most significant changes to how policing works in this country in around 200 years.”
Yesterday(MON) Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), said there is too much waste in the current system. He stated: “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.
“If we want to put in the hands of every neighbourhood cop, every local team, the best available technology, we’ve got to do that once for everybody and then get it rolled out.”
HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Andy Cooke, said: “The police reform White Paper marks the most significant changes to policing in decades. This ambitious set of reforms is welcome and required.
“I have consistently highlighted the need for stronger national decision-making, better collaboration and more consistent standards across forces. The Government has clearly listened and I look forward to working with the Government and the policing sector to help make sure these proposals deliver real benefits.”
Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Claire Waxman, said: “Today’s Policing White Paper is a substantial document with laudable ambitions for the future of our police forces. It will take time to digest and grasp its full implications for policing and for victims of crime.
“Too often, victims are at the mercy of a postcode lottery. Compliance with the Victims’ Code remains poor, and many are still not receiving the service and support they are entitled to from the police. We must ask if a more victim-centric approach is possible.
“Ministers have shown real ambition for victims in other areas of the justice system; we now need to see that same bold approach applied to policing.”
