David Blunkett has said that reform of Britain's police forces must continue if they are to be effective in tackling crime.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of Chief Police Officers, the home secretary said there should be "no fear of failure" when it comes to making essential changes.

And he added that modernising the police workforce was also a requirement for a successful service.

"The service has already evolved considerably and I welcome the commitment demonstrated so far to the police reform agenda," Blunkett said.

"Further reform remains essential to meet the ever more complex challenges of policing in the 21st century. 

"In order to achieve this, we need strong leadership at every level - no more fear of failure or failure because of fear."

Describing reform as "an imperative", Blunkett said the police service had to keep pace with the changes in British society.

"By working together, I am confident that we will be able to seize the opportunity and create a police service that is efficient, effective and accountable to the
people it serves," he told senior officers.

"I am calling on chief officers and authority chairs to do their bit by encouraging leadership across the service at all levels, driving through cultural change, ensuring racism continues to be tackled, and improving efficiency."

The government would help by removing unnecessary paperwork and giving the police more powers, he added.

And while the government is pushing ahead with plans for a Serious and Organised Crime Agency there would be no "change for change's sake".

"We need to look at the configuration of forces to allow police to tackle crime most effectively at all levels," said Blunkett.

"While we are not rushing into structural changes, we are looking at whether the current force structure is the right one.

"But we are not interested in change for change's sake - we are clear that any changes should bring about clear benefits to local people and in the battle against organised crime."

The Home Office is currently considering responses to its green paper on police reform, and is expected to set out further reform plans in the coming months.