A new, nationwide police force, the NPS (National Police Service) will be established to ‘fight the most complex and serious crimes’ the government has said, with a national police commissioner appointed to lead the force.
Police response officers will now be expected to reach the scene of the most serious incidents within 15 minutes for cities and 20 minutes for rural areas, with 999 calls answered within 10 seconds.
Neighbourhood policing will also see a boost following an extension of the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee which will ensure every council ward in England and Wales has its own, named, contactable officers, with responses to neighbourhood queries guaranteed within 72 hours.
“The funding must reflect rural needs, including remoteness, vulnerability, and seasonal population pressures.”
NFU President Tom Bradshaw
These officers will also benefit from a new training programme which has been piloted in 11 forces and is now being expanded across the country, designed to equip them with specialist skills.
Rural areas targeted by criminals
Responding to the plans for reform, NFU President Tom Bradshaw said that “organised crime is a major threat to rural communities, with more than 22 gangs responsible for widespread thefts of machinery, vehicles, and GPS equipment, according to the National Rural Crime Network”.
“Relentless fly-tipping and the growing menace of hare coursing are also causing significant financial loss and deep emotional distress to farming families and their businesses and impacting food production across the country.” he said.
NFU Mutual’s 2025 rural crime report found that quad bikes and ATVs remained top targets for thieves, with the estimated cost of tractor thefts seeing a rise of 17% as criminals sought out machines and their parts. The rural insurer warned that rural crime is becoming increasingly organised, but highlighted the coordinated efforts of farmers, police, the industry and insurers which led to a 16.5% reduction in the total cost of rural crime for 2024.
Tom added: “Criminal gangs frequently operate across multiple police force areas to evade capture, and they target rural areas where policing is thinly stretched.
“As part of these reforms, announced by government, the funding must reflect rural needs, including remoteness, vulnerability, and seasonal population pressures.
“While the reorganisation of police forces takes place and as some policing functions transfer to elected mayors, we look forward to working with the Mayoral Strategic Authorities and future Policing and Crime Boards to ensure rural communities have a strong voice.”
Major reset
The Home Office recently announced that it plans to abolish police and crime commissioner positions, once their term is up in 2028, with these functions transferred to elected mayors and new governance structures.
The new changes announced this week are detailed in a White Paper and have been described by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood as the biggest in the history of professional policing.
She said the ‘reset’ would restore neighbourhood policing under a new structure, with the merging of forces delivering a less fragmented, more cost-effective service and the new NPS delivering centralised specialist services.
