Dudley MP, Sonia Kumar MP has welcomed major new policing reforms announced by the Home Secretary, saying they will help cut crime, speed up police response times, and rebuild neighbourhood policing after years of decline.
The reforms will introduce clear national standards for emergency responses, with police expected to reach serious incidents within 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural communities, and 999 calls answered within 10 seconds.
Forces that fail to meet these standards will face direct intervention, including specialist turnaround teams.
The plans will also modernise policing for the digital age. With around 90 per cent of crime now leaving a digital footprint, police forces will recruit more crime analysts, cyber investigators and digital forensics specialists to better tackle fraud, online abuse, and organised criminal networks.
Ms Kumar said the changes would make a real difference for communities like Dudley, where residents and businesses have been left waiting too long for help.
She said: “In Dudley, people want to feel safe in their homes, on their streets and in our town centres. Too often, residents have told me that police response has been slow and neighbourhood patrols too thin on the ground.
"These reforms are about restoring visible, responsive policing — making sure officers are back in our communities, responding faster and focusing on the crimes that matter most to local people.”
The announcement comes amid continued concern about retail crime. New figures show shoplifting across England and Wales rose by 5 per cent in the year to September 2025. Trade union Usdaw reports that retail workers continue to face high levels of abuse, threats, and violence, with two-thirds of incidents linked to shop theft or robbery.
Ms Kumar added: “Retail crime is not victimless. In Dudley, shop workers have told me about the impact of repeated theft, abuse, and intimidation. Labour’s reforms — including ending the ineffective £200 prosecution threshold and increasing uniformed patrols in shopping areas — will help protect workers and support local businesses.”
Under Labour’s plans, every council ward will have named, contactable neighbourhood officers, with residents guaranteed a response to local concerns within 72 hours.
Police forces will be held to published national standards on response times, neighbourhood policing levels, and crime outcomes, so the public can see how their force is performing.
The reforms also include the creation of a new National Police Service to tackle serious and organised crime such as terrorism, large-scale fraud, and online abuse — freeing up local officers to focus on everyday crimes like shoplifting, antisocial behaviour and street theft.
The proposals form part of the biggest overhaul of policing in two centuries, set out in the Home Secretary’s White Paper From local to national: a new model for policing, including a new Licence to Practise for officers to raise standards and ensure proper training and support.
Labour’s Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood said: “Everyday crimes are on the rise and too often there seem to be no consequences.
"I will restore neighbourhood policing and scale up patrols in communities to catch criminals and cut crime.”
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