The Home Secretary has outlined proposed reforms including the creation of a ‘British FBI’ in the form of a National Police Service.

Facial recognition technology’s to be rolled out across England and Wales as part of the biggest shake up of policing in decades.

The technology, first trialled in Croydon, has led to an arrest every 34 minutes there when it’s in use according to the Met Police.

Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt tells us what Shabana Mahmood’s speech in the Commons just now means for police forces.

You can listen to Martin’s summary here:

You can hear Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, outlining planned reforms to policing in England and Wales in the Commons, here.

Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Lisa Townsend, has voiced her concerns that wide-ranging reforms announced today will take away the public’s voice on policing in Surrey.

The Commissioner said the new planned police structure unveiled in the Home Office’s White Paper on police reform will place unprecedented power in the hands of just two people at the centre – the Home Secretary and the Commissioner of a new National Police Service.

Lisa said she feared that, coupled with plans to merge local forces, this would result in any local accountability being lost.

She added that, whilst police reform is badly needed, there is little evidence base for many of the proposals outlined in today’s White Paper, and that significant investment will be required to successfully implement many of the plans.

The Commissioner said: “There is no argument that police reform is long overdue, and there is merit in a National Police Service to handle some of the more complex crime investigation, such as fraud and counter terrorism.

“But the plans are to also draw functions such as roads policing into the centre. I believe this will be detrimental to those teams who will lose that local knowledge that is so important to the work they do.

“The White Paper also outlines how targets will be set for 999 performance and deployment to incidents.

“Here in Surrey, we are already meeting those targets and I fail to see how this will drive further improvements.

“I have already said any potential Surrey Police merger with neighbouring forces would be a disaster for our residents. Having now seen the detail in today’s White Paper, there is little to allay my fears that resources would be diverted from Surrey communities, diluting our neighbourhood policing.

“Policing must be rooted in the local communities it serves.

“By placing all the power and decision-making in the hands of only two people, my fear is that local accountability will be lost and the ability of local residents to shape how policing affects their lives will be severely restricted.

“This year marks the 175th anniversary of Surrey Police. There will be many in the county wondering today how many years it has left.”