The Police Reform White Paper, published on 26 January 2026, set out the Government’s commitment to introduce a new model for policing, so that it is fit for the modern world and we have the right policing in the right places.

The Independent Review of Police Force Structures was launched on 17 March 2026. It will make recommendations on the number and configuration of forces and how the delivery of local policing can be optimised. The Review will report its recommendations to the Home Secretary in the summer.

The new Policing Performance System outlined in the White Paper, will provide structured oversight, engagement and targeted support to help forces deliver sustained improvements where required as outlined in their improvement plans.

Decisions regarding police resourcing and the police estate in a force area, including provision of custody suite for those being detained, are operational matters for the Chief Constable and elected Police and Crime Commissioner (or equivalent).

As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the Government has committed to delivering 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel by the end of this Parliament.

Funding available to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will be up to £18.4 billion in 2026-27, an increase of up to £796 million. In 2026-27 Devon and Cornwall Police will receive up to £483.5 million of funding, an increase of up to £19.4 million compared to 2025-26, which equates to a 4.2% cash increase, or a 1.9% real terms increase

For Year 2 of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, forces will be given their share of a £363 million ringfence. This funding is subject to forces delivering their share of growth in 2026-27, contributing to a total increase of 4,750 FTE from the March 2025 baseline. Devon and Cornwall Police have been allocated £8,590,680 of the Year 2 ringfence.

Allegations of any crime involving serving police officers should be investigated robustly and independently by the police.

Outside of criminal investigations, disciplinary investigations (including those involving serious assault and serious sexual offences) are referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) under the mandatory referral criteria. Victims of crime, including police officers, have rights afforded to them under the Victims' Code. The IOPC will make a decision as to whether to investigate themselves, direct the force to investigate or decide that the force should investigate locally. These decisions are made independently of the police force, with the protection of victims in mind.

The Government will continue to work with police leaders to ensure that the response to police-perpetrated domestic abuse is robust and that every relevant allegation is dealt with appropriately.

Last year, the Home Secretary also announced that the Government would be introducing reforms to strengthen police forces' use of suspension powers, in circumstances where a police officer is under investigation for domestic abuse or sexual offences. The Government is considering options on this and expects to introduce new legislation later this year.

The Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) national programme commenced in May 2023 with a focused team supported by subject matter experts.

Whilst appreciating that police forces remain operationally independent, the national implementation team at the National Police Chiefs Council conduct a monthly meeting with all force representatives and partners (including Devon and Cornwall). Alongside this, one to one meetings are arranged between force representatives responsible for the governance and implementation of RCRP and the national team, of which Devon and Cornwall are engaged.

To support the partnership working, guidance has been produced for police forces by the NPCC and College of Policing and additional guidance has been produced by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and NHS England.

In 2025-26, Devon and Cornwall Police will receive up to £454.9 million. This is an increase of up to £25.5 million compared to the 2024-25 settlement.

Police and Crime Commissioners whose forces are facing unexpected additional costs may request funding through the Police Special Grant, in line with the published guidance.

Special grant guidance - GOV.UK

Where serious failings or concerns are identified, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services may choose to escalate a police force to ‘Engage’, also known as ‘special measures’, which is a form of enhanced monitoring. These decisions are made by His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMCIC), independently of Government.

Devon & Cornwall Police was escalated to Engage by the Inspectorate in October 2022 over concerns surrounding their crime data integrity, their call handling (which has since been addressed) and their management of sexual and violent offenders. The force has been subject to enhanced monitoring since.

HMCIC, Andy Cooke, chairs the Police Performance and Oversight Group (PPOG), where forces in Engage present their progress against HMICFRS’ concerns and recommendations and are able to receive support from the sector. The Home Office attends these meetings to monitor what progress is being made, and to consider what further support may be required.

When HMICFRS is satisfied that ‘sustained and sustainable’ improvements have been made by a force against concerns identified, the Inspectorate may release it from its Engaged status.

It is for locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to make decisions around appointing, suspending, and removing chief constables. The Office of the PCC for Devon and Cornwall have kept the Home Office updated on the decisions taken by the PCC about the leadership of the force. I welcome the recent appointment of James Vaughan QPM as interim Chief Constable for Devon & Cornwall Police

It is vital that all forces have strong leadership that instils the right culture across the workforce. That is why the College of Policing are working to embed consistent leadership standards across all forces and ranks.

In her Written Ministerial Statement of 19 November 2024 (HCWS232), the Home Secretary announced her intention to present a White Paper to Parliament next year on reforms to deliver more effective and efficient policing, to rebuild public confidence and to deliver the Government’s Safer Streets mission. This reform programme will be a collaborative endeavour with policing, and will include exploring how to strengthen police workforce, leadership, and culture.

It is for locally elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to make decisions around appointing, suspending, and removing chief constables.

The College of Policing updated the national Guidance for Appointing Chief Officers in February 2024 to ensure fair and appropriate processes are followed in the appointment of chief officers in England and Wales. The College also offer a range of services to help PCCs with the recruitment and appointment process including help to maximise the pool of potential candidates, support with delivering a process in line with the national guidance and to sit on the appointment panel as a senior police advisor.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the function of police workers, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Since 2012, the Home Office has published statistics on the functions of police workers which includes a “neighbourhood policing” function. From 31 March 2015 onwards, the Home Office replaced the ‘old’ functions framework with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) Police Objective Analysis (POA) framework. The POA framework also includes a “neighbourhood policing” function although the two frameworks are not directly comparable.

Data on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in neighbourhood policing roles, collected under the CIPFA POA framework, in Devon and Cornwall, between 31 March 2015 and 2023, can be found in Tables F1 and F3 of the data tables accompanying each publication. The Home Office do not hold directly comparable data on the number of police officers and PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles for years prior to 2015.

Table 1 shows the number of FTE police officers and PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles in Devon and Cornwall between the 31 March 2015 and 2023. As at 31 March 2023, there were 264 FTE police officers employed in neighbourhood policing roles in Devon and Cornwall, an increase of 1.6% (4 FTE) compared to March 2015. The number of officers in neighbourhood policing roles had been declining between 2015 and 2018, when it reached a low of 220 FTE, before increasing year on year to levels seen in March 2015. Whilst the number of officers in neighbourhood police officers is similar to 2015, the proportion has decreased by 1.2 percentage points from 8.9% in 2015 to 7.7% in 2023.

As at 31 March 2023, there were 129 FTE PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles, a decrease of 61.2% (204 FTE) compared to March 2015 when there were 333 FTE PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles. Whilst the number of PCSOs has been declining, the proportion of PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles has remained consistent.

Table 1: Number and proportion of full-time equivalent police officers and PCSOs employed in neighbourhood policing roles, as at 31 March 2015 to 2023, Devon and Cornwall

Some forces are not able to make a clear distinction between certain subfunctions and therefore record the majority of, or all, employees under one function. This is particularly apparent for the ‘Neighbourhood Policing’ (1a) and ‘Incident (Response) Management’ (1b) functions, so the Home Office recommends using the wider function of “Local Policing”. Data for local policing is shown in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Number and proportion of full-time equivalent police officers and PCSOs employed in local policing roles, as at 31 March 2015 to 2023, Devon and Cornwall

Data for the ‘as at 31 March 2024’ publication will be published in July 2024 as part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.