Significant changes to the police service and UK security have been announced by the Home Secretary in what she described as the “most radical police reform in at least 50 years”.

Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon (July 26), the Home Secretary Theresa May set out proposals being published in a consultation document entitled Policing in the 21st Century: Reconnecting Police and the People.

The key proposals are to:

• Transfer powers back to the people by introducing directly elected individuals by 2012 to “reconnect police to the public”
• Abolish SOCA in favour of a new National Crime Agency, which will include organised crime, border policing, and the child exploitation and online protection centre (Ceop)
• Scrap Police Authorities. Instead, elected police and crime commissioners will have the power to hire and fire chief constables from May 2012
• Introduce police reservists - a pool of volunteers to undertake police duties and "community crime fighters" - ordinary people could take part in joint patrols with officers. There will also be a push for more to become special constables or join Neighbourhood Watch schemes
• phasing out of watchdog the National Policing Improvement Agency and “discuss the way forward” for the Association of Chief Police Officers
• Give police officers back their independence by making frontline staff ‘crime fighters’ and trusted to get on with their job
• Help forces in providing better value for money
• Introduce the national 101 non-emergency number

Mrs May said the plans would strengthen the fight against crime and the police service which has become “disconnected from the public”.

Shadow Home Secretary Alan Johnson, however, blasted the proposals, describing them as “infantile drivel”, “structural upheaval” and saying the document should be entitled ‘Policing in the 21st Century: How to make their job harder’.

One of the most surprising changes is the abolition of SOCA; the coalition agreement mentioned reviewing SOCA, but now it will be transformed into the NCA. It is envisaged that the new Agency will be made up of a number of operational commands, under the leadership of a chief constable. It will incorporate the work of the existing Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and “better connect” these capabilities to those within the police service, HM Revenue and Customs, the UK Border Agency and a other criminal justice partners.

Many of the proposals will feature in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, to be published in the autumn.

What do you think of the proposal?

Ahead of the launch of this Bill, the Government is seeking the views of both the public and professionals across the criminal justice system on specific aspects of the reform programme.

To have your say, you can access the consultation paper here.