The UK government has officially announced the launch of the National Police Service (NPS), a new national police force that has already been dubbed the ‘British FBI’.
According to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, the NPS will bring together under one command key national capabilities for tackling serious crime, which are currently spread across the National Crime Agency (NCA), counter-terrorism units and other agencies.
The main tasks of the new service are:
investigating and countering terrorism,
combating organised crime,
investigating large-scale fraud and economic crime,
countering human trafficking, drug trafficking and cybercrime on a national scale,
introducing advanced technologies (including facial recognition systems) and rolling them out to all local police forces.
The NPS will operate primarily in England and Wales, but will have the authority to set standards, conduct training and coordinate operations throughout the United Kingdom.
‘We are creating a National Police Service, already dubbed the “British FBI”, to use the best global talent and the most advanced technology to protect our citizens from the most serious threats,’ said the Home Secretary.
One of the main goals of the reform is to free 43 local police forces from having to deal with complex national cases so that they can focus on everyday crime: theft, street violence, anti-social behaviour and minor offences.
A detailed plan for the reorganisation and a timetable for the creation of the NPS are expected to be presented in the coming weeks in a special white paper entitled ‘From local to national: a new model for policing’.
Experts note that the creation of a unified national investigative service could significantly change the landscape of British law enforcement, which has traditionally been based on a decentralised model with strong local police forces.
The official launch of the National Police Service is planned for 2026–2027, after the necessary legislation has been passed and the transition period has been completed.