Met chief Sir Mark Rowley has complained the current policing model creates "waste and confusion" as he urged for radical reform.
Sir Mark said the system of 43 county forces had not “been fit for purpose for at least two decades” and that a "once in a generation" overhaul was "long overdue."
In its place, he has called for the creation of 12-15 mega forces as part of what he described as “the first serious reform of our policing model in over 60 years”.
Sir Mark added that bigger forces would be better able to utilise modern technology and would reduce “expensive” governance and support functions.
Writing in The Sunday Times, he said: "The 43-force model was designed in the 1960s and hasn’t been fit for purpose for at least two decades. It hinders the effective confrontation of today’s threats and stops us fully reaping the benefits of technology.
“We need to reduce the number of forces by two-thirds, with the new bigger and fully capable regional forces supported by the best of modern technology and making better use of the limited funding available.”
He also characterised Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ decision to increase police funding by 2.3% above inflation each year in the recent spending review as “disappointing”.
It comes after Tiff Lynch, Acting National Chairman of Police Federation of England and Wales, told LBC police departments were "incredibly angry" over the figure.
Ms Lynch said: "Officers are going to be going into work knowing exactly where they stand in government’s priorities.
"We’ve got kids killing kids, violence against women – there’s so much going on out there and we can’t do this on a shoestring.
“On what we’ve received today, I don’t think any of the government’s pledges are going to be a priority.
“We’ve been taking on the work of other services for too long and we can’t take any more."
The Chancellor said this funding, despite criticisms, would allow people to feel safe in their communities.
“Safe in the knowledge that when people break the law, they will feel the force of the law,” Ms Reeves said.
