Every police force in the country will be able to use live facial recognition vans as part of the biggest shake-up in policing in decades.
An existing 10 vans will rise to 50, rolled out nationwide, to catch criminals on police watchlists – and will be overseen by a national centre on artificial intelligence (AI).
The move comes as part of major changes revealed in the Government’s White Paper on police reforms, which seeks to also create a “British FBI” called the National Police Service (NPS) and drastically cut the number of police forces.
Plans already announced also include a new “licence to practice” for police officers, and powers for the Home Secretary to sack underperforming chief constables and intervene in failing forces.
Speaking in the Commons, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood set out how the policing structures are “outdated” and called policing the “last great unreformed public service”.
She said: “Taken together, these are, without question, major reforms.
“A transformation in the structures of our forces, the standards within them and the means by which they are held to account by the public, these are the most significant changes to how policing works in this country in around 200 years.”
The plans are expected to be introduced in stages, with some needing to pass legislation.
The NPS – with the aim to tackle serious crime – will merge the existing National Crime Agency, Counter Terror Policing, the National Police Air Service and National Roads Policing all under a single organisation.
Work to set up the NPS will start this year, but it is believed it will be finalised in the next Parliament.
A review will also look at how many regional forces to cut and report back this summer, with some mergers expected to take place by the next election.
Under the new structure, there will be an “elite” national police service, dealing with serious crimes including counter-terrorism and organised crime.
The number of police forces in England and Wales will be “significantly reduced” from 43 by the end of the next parliament, with the new, larger forces divided into local areas corresponding with cities, towns and boroughs.
Everyday crime like shoplifting, phone theft and antisocial behaviour is rising across the country.
Too often victims report offences and wait hours or days for a response—by then offenders and witnesses are gone.
I will restore neighbourhood policing and expand police… pic.twitter.com/Igy5FECyk5
It is proposed that every local council ward will have its own, contactable police officer.
But reacting in the Commons, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Her plan includes mandating the merger of police forces, and briefings over the weekend suggest a reduction from 43 down to 10 or 12, so a single police force might cover an area from Dover to Milton Keynes, or from Penzance to Swindon.
“Such huge forces will be remote from the communities they serve. Resources will be drawn away from villages and towns towards large cities.”
Unison national officer for policing Ben Priestley also said any effective reform of police services will need “significant investment”.
“Forces are on course to be £1 billion short of their current budget needs by 2027, which means vital police staff jobs are already being cut,” the union boss said.
“Mergers are expensive and won’t bring about short-term savings.
“Police staff and the public will want reassurances vital local services and democratic accountability of the police aren’t going to be weakened by the changes.”
Action is needed today, not nearly a decade from now pic.twitter.com/CSueR3VBOh
— Chris Philp MP (@CPhilpOfficial) January 26, 2026
Meanwhile £115 million will be invested over the next three years to set up the national centre for AI, called Police.AI in a bid to free up officers from paper work and ensure responsible use of the technology.
A public consultation is currently underway on how the facial recognition to fight crime should be regulated and how to protect people’s privacy to help shape new laws.
It is understood the national rollout of vans will be in line with current standards used by the Metropolitan Police, who already use the technology.
Currently the legal basis facial recognition can be used from is piecemeal, based on common law, data protection and human rights laws.
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