Public confidence in the police has been hurt by a "dangerous cocktail" of controversies including the critical Hillsborough report and Andrew Mitchell "plebgate" row, a senior MP has warned.
Labour's Keith Vaz, who chairs the Commons Home Affairs Committee, also said government restructuring of the service had undermined police morale.
He called for talks between government and police at this "defining moment".
The Home Office said public confidence in the police remained high.
Mr Vaz's committee begins an inquiry into police practices next month.
This will look into issues of training, accountability and integrity, and the effectiveness of processes for dealing with internal corruption and malpractice.
Last year former rail regulator Tom Winsor wrote a controversial report into changing police pay and conditions and in June he was appointed Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales, despite criticism by the Police Federation.
Analysis
Plebgate, Hillsborough and Winsor; three words that Keith Vaz believes are linked. Three words Mr Vaz believes explains a threat to trust on the public side and low morale on the cop side.
But David Cameron and Theresa May - the police reform enforcer - won't see it that way. Yes, they know the changes they are pushing ahead with, to reform police pay and conditions, are controversial.
But they also believe that the bulk of Tom Winsor's proposals are essential to make the 43 constabularies work better with less money.
Some in government will welcome the self-inflicted damage from collusion over Hillsborough and claims that an officer lied about seeing an Andrew Mitchell rant.
But most will be uncomfortable about an erosion in trust. They need that thin blue line - especially, if, as some warn, the 2011 riots could come round again.
But make no mistake, the prime minister said any claims an officer fabricated evidence were "extremely serious."
That means the police - in London in particular - need to do all they can to ensure any wrongdoing is rooted out and exposed as the rare instance he hopes it is.
Writing in the Sunday Express, Mr Vaz said: "Crime may be low but confidence in the police service appears just as low and their morale is even lower."
About the "plebgate" row, Mr Vaz wrote: "What appears to have happened to Andrew Mitchell could well have been a Christmas special script. The chief whip had to resign following a 60-second 'incident' in, of all places, Downing Street."
Mr Mitchell's resignation followed an accusation that, during an argument while leaving Downing Street on his bicycle in September, he had called police officers "plebs" - a claim he has always denied.
CCTV footage has since emerged appearing to cast doubt on officers' version of events, and a serving Met police constable has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office and suspended from duty.
Mr Vaz went on: "Take a police officer apparently masquerading as a member of the public, a confidential log book finding its way into the public domain, add the results of the Hillsborough Inquiry, which have resulted in thousands of serving and former police officers being investigated, and the fact that 26 out of the 43 police forces do not have a permanent chief constable, and you have a dangerous cocktail.
"This is a defining moment for policing. Cool heads, clear thoughts and strong leadership are required."
'Radical change'However, while he acknowledged that some restructuring of policing was needed, he said the government's changes had been "too rapid and too far-reaching".
Currently, almost half of officers questioned said they would prefer a different job, Mr Vaz suggested, and more than 90% felt the force lacked government support.
"Start Quote
End Quote Keith Vaz Chairman, Commons Home Affairs CommitteeThe big questions now are what do we want from our police service and how much are we prepared to pay for it?"
"Some of the causes of disquiet are not the result of change but of the way change has been handled.
"One of the first rules of management is to ensure that during a period of radical change you carry your workforce with you. Unfortunately this has not happened," he said.
"With these profound changes taking place the last thing you should do is start to alter the pay and conditions of those who will implement the reforms without entering into a proper dialogue with them.
"The government was wrong to change police pension arrangements retrospectively. It was unfair and forced out a number of experienced officers."
Mr Vaz argued that the prime minister had to open "a constructive dialogue with the police service" that would continue at annual summits involving senior officers.
"The big questions now are what do we want from our police service and how much are we prepared to pay for it?" he said.
"We need a royal commission that sets out a new Magna Carta for policing in this century."
Mr Vaz's comments come as the Sunday Times reports that the government has released new figures showing crime has fallen by 10% in 19 out of 43 police forces in England and Wales, despite budget cuts.
A Home Office spokeswoman confirmed the figures to the BBC and said they were a comparison between Office of National Statistics crime figures for the year ending June 2010 and the year ending June 2012.
'Hard work'Police minister Damian Green told the paper: "These statistics prove what we have said all along. It is possible to reduce spending while maintaining and even improving the service given to the public."
The Police Federation's new chairman Steve Williams was quoted as saying: "These figures, whilst a snapshot, are testament to the hard work and dedication displayed by police officers who, when faced with challenges, rise deftly to meet them."
Following Mr Vaz's remarks, a Home Office spokesman said surveys regularly showed that public confidence in the police remained high.
He told the BBC: "Police reform is working and crime is falling. The police budget is £14bn a year and it's only right that they should make a contribution to reducing the budget deficit.
"Chief constables are rising to the challenge of making efficiency savings and providing greater value for money.
"We have swept away central targets and reduced police bureaucracy. How the police are deployed, rather than their absolute numbers, is what is key to cutting crime."
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