Radical police shake-up outlined for UK

Plans for a massive shake-up in policing in England and Wales have been outlined by the home secretary. A new national crime-fighting agency, to replace the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), and establishing police reservists are among the proposals. People will also be able to vote in two years' time for locally-elected officials to oversee each police force. Shadow home secretary Alan Johnson said police did not back the plans as they would "make their job harder".

The Home Office consultation paper - Policing in the 21st century - was described by Home Secretary Theresa May as the "most radical reform of policing for 50 years". She told the Commons on Monday that the police had "become too bureaucratic, too much accountable to Whitehall, rather than to the people they're serving".

Key changes include:

• the abolition of 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)
• the scrapping of Police Authorities. Instead, elected police and crime commissioners will have the power to hire and fire chief constables from May 2012
• the proposed introduction of police reservists - a pool of volunteers to undertake police duties
• "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