Plans for a massive shake-up in policing in England and Wales are set to be outlined by the home secretary today.

A new national crime-fighting agency, likely to be dubbed Britain’s FBI, is among Theresa May’s proposals.

People will also be able to vote in two years’ time for locally-elected officials to oversee each police force.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) is expected to be scrapped just four years after it was set up by Labour.

At a local level, the Police authorities which currently hold the 43 forces in England and Wales to account, are set to be abolished.

Elections will take place in May 2012 for police and crime commissioners to replace them, who will have powers to set police force budgets and hire and fire chief constables.