MET POLICE CHIEF TO REBOOT POLICE FORCE – Rowley says 43 separate police forces across England and Wales is a relic of the past
The man at the top of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, has called for a ‘dramatic overhaul’ of the entire policing system. He claims the way crime is fought—in his words—is ‘so out of date’ for the challenges we face in 2026.”
Sir Mark is arguing that having 43 separate police forces across England and Wales is a relic of the past. He wants to see those numbers slashed, arguing that merging these forces would pave the way for massive investment in the technology needed to catch modern criminals.
This call for a total system reboot comes at a very interesting time. New figures from the Met reveal that London has recorded its lowest number of homicides in more than a decade. Despite a growing population, there were 97 homicides in 2025—that’s down 11% from the previous year.
Sir Mark says these statistics are ‘remarkable,’ and it puts London in a league of its own when you look at other major world cities. To give you some perspective, London’s homicide rate is now just 1.1 per 100,000 people. Compare that to Paris, which sits at 1.6, New York at 2.8, and Berlin at 3.2. Sir Mark says while health services and community work have played a huge part, his officers are taking more weapons off the streets and putting more organised criminals behind bars than ever before.
But the Commissioner’s message for the Government is clear: police leaders are united in the belief that the current system needs to change, and it needs to change now.
