‘British FBI’ Will Be Set Up as Soon as Possible, Shabana Mahmood Tells MPs
A new national police force dubbed the “British FBI” is set to move ahead as quickly as possible, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has told MPs, as the government prepares one of the most significant proposed reforms to policing in England and Wales.
Mahmood told the cross-party Home Affairs Committee that she wanted to appoint the commissioner-designate of the proposed National Police Service as soon as legislation establishing the organisation has been introduced to Parliament.
The government intends for the new service to be operationally ready by 2029. Legislation is currently being drafted, while an independent review is examining wider proposals to reorganise policing structures.
The plans would create a national organisation responsible for some of the UK’s most serious and complex crimes, while changing the way local policing is organised.
A New National Police Service
The National Police Service, or NPS, was announced by Mahmood earlier in 2026 as part of a broad programme of police reform.
The government has described the organisation as a national service that would bring together capabilities currently spread across several different agencies and police forces.
Its responsibilities would include serious and organised crime, terrorism, fraud and other complex criminal investigations.
The proposed structure would bring together functions currently carried out by organisations including the National Crime Agency, Counter Terrorism Policing, Regional Organised Crime Units and national specialist policing operations.
The government has also proposed bringing capabilities such as police aviation and national roads policing into the new structure.
The nickname “British FBI” has been used to make the concept easier to understand, although the proposed organisation would operate within Britain’s existing policing and legal framework rather than simply copying the American Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Mahmood Wants a Commissioner Quickly
During her appearance before the Home Affairs Committee, Mahmood said the government wanted to move quickly on the appointment of the new organisation’s leadership.
She told MPs that most of the operational readiness was intended to be completed by the end of the current parliamentary term. She also said she wanted a commissioner-designate appointed as quickly as possible after the relevant legislation had been introduced.
The appointment would be an important step because the commissioner would be responsible for leading the new national organisation and overseeing its development.
Mahmood’s comments suggest that ministers do not want to wait until every part of the new structure is complete before beginning to establish its leadership.
Instead, the government intends to begin building the organisation while Parliament considers the legislation required to give the NPS its formal powers.
Why Does the Government Want Reform?
The central argument behind the proposed reform is that modern serious crime frequently crosses local and regional boundaries.
Criminal organisations can operate across several police-force areas, while activities such as online fraud, drug trafficking, people smuggling, terrorism and organised exploitation can involve networks operating nationally or internationally.
The current system in England and Wales consists of 43 territorial police forces.
Those forces are responsible primarily for local policing but can also be required to contribute to national operations and specialist investigations.
Mahmood has argued that expecting individual forces to perform both roles can make it difficult for them to maintain consistently high standards in local and national policing.
The government’s proposal is intended to separate some of the national responsibilities from local policing.
In theory, that would allow local officers to concentrate more heavily on crimes affecting their communities, while specialist national investigators focus on organised and complex criminal activity.
The 43-Force System
The reform would also affect the structure of local policing.
The government has been examining proposals to reduce the number of police forces in England and Wales and establish larger regional structures.
However, the exact final structure remains subject to review.
Mahmood told MPs that the government’s position had evolved following the change of prime minister, with greater emphasis now being placed on transferring powers to regional leaders.
Andy Burnham’s previous experience as Mayor of Greater Manchester is relevant to that discussion because he was responsible for overseeing Greater Manchester Police while serving in that role.
The government therefore faces two interconnected questions: how to create a national service capable of handling complex crime and how to organise local policing so that regional authorities have meaningful influence.
An Independent Review
The proposed reforms are not being implemented without further examination.
Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe has been asked to revisit the evidence behind the government’s policing proposals.
Mahmood told MPs that the review would “re-test” the evidence supporting the reforms.
This means that some details of the final structure could still change.
The review is particularly important because reorganising police forces is a major undertaking. Changes could affect leadership arrangements, budgets, personnel, technology, accountability and relationships between national and local authorities.
The government therefore has to balance its desire to move quickly with the need to ensure that the final model is workable.
A £340 Million Programme
Creating the National Police Service will require significant investment.
Mahmood told MPs that the estimated cost of establishing the NPS is around £340 million.
She said approximately two-thirds of that funding had already been committed, with the remainder expected to come through the next spending review.
The Home Secretary also told MPs that she was confident the programme was fully funded.
The figure represents the initial cost of creating the new organisation rather than necessarily the total long-term cost of national policing.
A new national organisation would require buildings, technology, communications systems, recruitment, training and integration of existing teams and agencies.
There could also be costs associated with transferring staff and assets from existing organisations.
What Happens to Existing Agencies?
One of the most important questions concerns the organisations whose responsibilities would be transferred to the NPS.
The National Crime Agency currently plays a central role in tackling serious and organised crime.
Counter Terrorism Policing coordinates specialist work against terrorist threats, while Regional Organised Crime Units operate across existing police-force boundaries.
The government’s proposal would bring significant elements of these capabilities together.
The aim is to reduce duplication and create a single national structure capable of coordinating intelligence and investigations.
However, bringing different organisations together is a complex process.
Each currently has its own leadership arrangements, working practices, systems and institutional culture.
The transition would therefore require careful planning to avoid disruption to ongoing investigations and national security operations.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The proposed NPS would not simply operate in exactly the same way across every part of the United Kingdom.
Policing is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Mahmood has previously told Parliament that the National Police Service would be able to conduct operations in Scotland and Northern Ireland only with the agreement of the legally designated authorities.
That reflects existing arrangements for serious and organised crime and counter-terrorism policing.
This means the service is not necessarily a single centralised police force covering every jurisdiction in Britain.
Instead, cooperation with devolved authorities would remain an important part of its operation.
The issue is particularly relevant because serious organised crime frequently crosses borders.
A national service would therefore need effective mechanisms for sharing intelligence and coordinating investigations while respecting the constitutional responsibilities of devolved governments.
Technology and Intelligence
Technology is another major component of the proposed reforms.
The government has described the NPS as a high-tech organisation that would share intelligence and technological resources across national policing.
Modern criminal investigations increasingly depend on digital evidence, data analysis and information-sharing systems.
Criminal networks can operate through encrypted communications, online platforms and international financial systems.
A national organisation could potentially make it easier to coordinate information from different police forces and specialist agencies.
However, such systems also create challenges involving privacy, cybersecurity, oversight and the lawful use of sensitive information.
The success of the NPS would therefore depend not simply on acquiring new technology but on ensuring that officers can use it effectively and that appropriate safeguards are in place.
Local Policing Remains Important
Although the NPS would focus on national and complex crime, Mahmood has repeatedly stressed that local policing remains central to the government’s plans.
The government’s argument is that local officers should spend more time dealing with crimes and problems directly affecting communities.
These include antisocial behaviour, shoplifting, neighbourhood disorder and other offences that can have a significant impact on people’s daily lives.
The creation of a national service is therefore being presented as a way to reduce pressure on local forces rather than replace them.
Regional Crime Hubs have also been proposed to tackle criminals operating across local boundaries.
The intended result is a clearer division between local policing and national specialist investigations.
The Road to 2029
For now, the government is aiming for the National Police Service to be operationally ready by 2029.
That gives ministers several years to introduce and pass legislation, appoint senior leadership, reorganise specialist capabilities and develop the necessary infrastructure.
Mahmood’s comments to MPs indicate that the government wants to begin that process as soon as the legislative framework is introduced.
The appointment of a commissioner-designate could become one of the first major signs that the proposal is moving from a policy announcement towards an operational organisation.
However, Parliament will still have an important role in determining the final legal powers and structure of the service.
A Major Change for British Policing
The proposed National Police Service represents a significant change in the way Britain could organise its response to serious crime.
Rather than relying on multiple organisations with overlapping responsibilities, the government wants to create a national structure capable of coordinating specialist policing at a higher level.
Supporters of the proposal argue that this could make it easier to tackle criminals who operate across police-force boundaries.
The government also says it could allow local forces to concentrate more resources on neighbourhood policing.
At the same time, the reform raises practical questions about cost, governance, accountability and the transition from the existing system.
Those questions will be considered as the legislation progresses and the independent review examines the government’s evidence.
Conclusion
Shabana Mahmood has told MPs that the government intends to move quickly with plans for a new National Police Service, informally dubbed the “British FBI”.
The organisation is intended to take responsibility for major areas of national policing, including serious organised crime, terrorism and complex investigations. It would bring together capabilities currently spread across several agencies and policing structures.
Mahmood wants a commissioner-designate appointed as soon as possible after the legislation is introduced, while the government aims for the new service to be operationally ready by 2029.
The project is expected to cost around £340 million, with the government saying that most of the funding has already been committed.
However, important details remain under review. The proposed changes to the wider structure of policing in England and Wales are being examined independently, while arrangements with Scotland and Northern Ireland will require cooperation with the relevant authorities.
The coming years will therefore involve legislation, recruitment, organisational changes and the integration of existing national policing capabilities.
The government’s stated objective is to create a stronger national response to serious and organised crime while giving local forces more capacity to focus on the problems affecting their communities.
Whether the final structure achieves those aims will depend on the legislation passed by Parliament, the outcome of the independent review and how effectively the new organisation can combine national expertise with local policing.