A top crime chief has claimed sweeping reforms to policing will leave rural towns and villages "hopelessly exposed to crime".

Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews (Reform) accused the Home Secretary of a "monstrous power-grab" by giving herself the power to sack chief constables.

Shabana Mahmood MP (Labour) yesterday revealed a proposed overhaul of the "broken policing model" in England and Wales.

The changes would see a new "British FBI" tackling cross-border crime with the number of local forces cut by about two-thirds.

There will also be a mass rollout of facial recognition technology – with funds for 40 more live facial recognition vans after the technology proved successful in trials.

The Home Secretary announced proposals to abolish elected Police and Crime Commissioners in November, and recently spoke of plans to create a so-called British FBI – the National Police Service – which she said would "free up forces to tackle everyday crime".

She told Parliament that Monday's 106-page white paper represented "the most significant changes to policing in this country in nearly 200 years".

But Mr Matthews – who was re-elected as the Conservative PCC for Leicestershire and Rutland in 2024 before defecting to Reform in August last year – said the plans place "too much power in the hands of too few people".

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He added: "The Home Secretary appears to be on a power-grab of monstrous proportions in a bid to conceal the government's ineptitude when it comes to tackling crime and disorder.

"She has given herself the power to fire chief constables, effectively eradicating the opportunity for challenge and operational independence for fear of a P45.

"Her proposals for force amalgamations will leave towns and villages hopelessly exposed to crime, while policing will lose its identity. 

"These plans place too much power in the hands of too few people. Real policing works when local officers are on the beat, accountable to local communities, and trusted to respond to local problems. This reform is proposing the very opposite.

"The Home Secretary is effectively throwing the baby out with the bath water, with an unproven plan that will cost an absolute fortune to implement.

"It's quite clear that the Government believes announcing change is the same as delivering it.

"It will be interesting to see what the promised consultation looks like, and who is consulted, because I think the public want to keep their local police. Fewer forces do not mean better policing."