Police forces will 'fail' to tackle organised crime and grooming gangs unless they undergo urgent changes, chiefs have warned.
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said replacing the 'bureaucratic, top-heavy spaghetti model' will result in more bobbies on the beat and less duplication.
He said failure to make widespread changes would lead to 'the inevitable decline of our ability to protect the public'.
Sir Mark and many other chief constables are in favour of switching from the current system of 43 constabularies to a three-tier approach under one National Police Service, with up to ten regional forces supported by local neighbourhood teams.
But critics argue that 'bigger isn't always better', and have flagged concerns about the future of smaller, efficient police forces.
In a keynote speech in Manchester, Sir Mark said technological advances meant evolution was needed.
He added: 'There comes a point when the world evolves beyond the ability of the systems built to service.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley today pressed the case for major police reforms in an effort to cut red tape, keep pace with technology, and increase frontline officers
'British policing has reached that point once again, and there's a very real risk to the public if we don't urgently reform to meet that challenge.
'In short, and it hurts me to say this, policing will fail.'
He said successive governments had allowed investment in policing to fall 'behind what the public needs', but admitted there was unlikely to be any major cash from the Treasury for the reforms – reckoned to cost around £2billion.
Instead he said policing would need to spend money differently, reducing duplication across 43 constabularies to free up more funding for neighbourhood policing.
He told the Daily Mail: 'It's about more bobbies on the beat, who then behind them have got better technology, so they do their job better.
'And then they've got better support from specialists to help them succeed against the most difficult criminals.
'If you were to say to the public: would you rather your money was spent on 43 police headquarters, 43 IT systems, and fewer officers on the beat, or just a few headquarters and more officers on the beat?
'I don't need a survey to know what the answer would be.'
Sir Mark said that the most substantial threats to communities – including from organised crime groups, fraud networks, online child abuse, cyber criminals and hostile states – operate across regional, national and international borders.
He said these crimes will thrive while policing remains organised around 'local' structures designed for a different age.
The intervention comes against a backdrop of mounting pressure across the wider criminal justice system.
Earlier this year, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a blueprint for reform, including a National Police Service which she said would save £350million to be put into frontline policing.