00:00For many people, policing is most visible on their own street, in their own
00:05town centre, or when they need help.
00:08That local connection is now at the heart.
00:10This is the result of a national debate about how policing should be organised in the future.
00:15The government's policing white paper sets out plans for major reform, including the creation
00:20of a new national body, the National Police Service, sometimes described as a British
00:25FBI.
00:26It also promises that every local council ward will have
00:30a named contactable police officer.
00:33Under the proposals, the number of police officers
00:35in England and Wales would be significantly reduced from the current 40-
00:40three by the end of the next parliament, with larger forces covering wider areas.
00:45But divided into local command units.
00:48The role of police and crime commissioners
00:50would also be scrapped in 2028.
00:53Durham's police officers
00:55police and crime commissioner, Joy Allen, has welcomed what she calls the ambition of
00:59the reform.
01:00But says changes on this scale must be handled carefully.
01:04She warns that restructuring alone does not automatically improve policing.
01:09and that public confidence could be put at risk without clear evidence.
01:14consent.
01:15Earlier this week, the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said current police
01:19policing structures are outdated and described policing as the last great unrefledged
01:24informed public service setting out the case for change.
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