Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley calls for dramatic police reforms

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has called for sweeping reforms of the policing system, which he says needs to change “quite dramatically”.

Sir Mark said policing reforms were overdue and described the current model as “out of date for the challenges of today”.

He called for a reduction in the 43 police forces in England and Wales, saying it would pave the way for greater investment in technology.

“We are overdue big police reforms,” he said. “The current policing model is a tweaked and bastardised version of what was designed in a 1962 royal commission.

“It is so out of date for the challenges today. A unique thing about where we are today, police leaders across the system were all of a common mindset that the system needs to change quite dramatically.

“So you might say we’re prepared to be the turkeys who vote for Christmas in terms of fewer police forces.

“People will immediately say ‘this is going to damage local policing’ – quite the opposite.

“If you’ve got an overly bureaucratic, complicated, convoluted sort of spaghetti system, all of that complexity sucks resources away from the locals.

“If we sort out all the national arrangements, our ability to counter national and international threats improves.

“We’re never going to get the money that we would ideally need. The way we can succeed for the public is going to come through big investment in technology and technology-led reform.

“All of that is much easier to do on a better structure than this 43 forces plus a whole scattering of odd national bodies.

“That would be pretty dramatic root and branch reform… that’s exactly what I’m arguing for. And it’s difficult, it won’t be a straightforward path, but it is overdue.”

Sir Mark’s calls for reform come a week after figures showed that the number of homicides recorded in London has dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade.

There were 97 homicides in 2025, down 11% from 109 in 2024, according to data from the Met.

That represented the lowest number recorded since 95 homicides 11 years ago, in 2014.

According to the Met, despite London’s growing population in the last decade, last year had the lowest homicide rate per capita on record, 1.1 per 100,000, lower than other major cities worldwide such as New York at 2.8, Berlin at 3.2 and Paris at 1.6 per 100,000.

“The point about a homicide rate per capita in London is lower than it’s ever been,” Sir Mark added. “That’s an extraordinary fact.

“These are quite remarkable statistics. And of course, it’s not just about policing – there’s health services, there’s all the diversion work.

“But we’re taking more weapons off the streets. We’re putting more organised criminals in prison.”

Published: 18/01/2026 by Radio NewsHub