TIME TO DEVOLVE POLICING

At the moment we have four police forces in Wales: Dyfed-Powys, South Wales, North Wales and Gwent, as of this November there will be four elected Police Commissioners. Yet despite this the reality is that the people of Wales have less say over policing in their own communities than people in Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man do. In Scotland, policing has always been a devolved function, it is time for it to be devolved here in Wales. Welsh government ministers in Cardiff will have a far greater understanding of local policing needs and the  expectations of our communities than some distant political appointee in the Ministry of Justice. At the end of the day, regardless of the reluctance of the current Welsh Government in Cardiff to do anything, the Welsh people have a fundamental democratic right to have a greater say in something so fundamental to civilised community life as policing. Policing is only one side of the coin, to make devolved policing work, there is also a need to devolve control of criminal justice.

POLICING IN WALES

Exactly how our communities are policed and exactly to whom our Police are accountable is an important issue at this Welsh election, even though Policing is not a devolved matter. Certainly well over one hundred plus email's that I have received from concerned Police Federation members over the last few hours show that many of our Police officers are also concerned as to where things are going Policing wise as a result of the proposed Con Dem public sector spending cuts.

Plaid believes that everyone in Wales has the right to live in a community that feels safe and is properly policed. While Policing is not currently devolved, Plaid will seek the devolution of the criminal justice system to the National Assembly for Wales so that we can introduce a progressive and more responsive approach to ensuring safer communities. And Plaid will work towards a Welsh system of restorative justice and community policing.

This is why - Plaid believes that the devolution of policing would safeguard jobs, pay and conditions. Showing a total lack of vision, Labour are working with the Tories by accepting their plans, proposing instead to create 500 Community Support Officers – support staff working on local anti-social behaviour issues.

This is a waste of public money - Plaid would much rather see these wasted millions spent on supporting trained police officers as they go about their existing duties while faced with deep and painful budget cuts. In Wales We are facing the prospect of losing 1,600 police officers across Wales, and Plaid would rather see the estimated £14 million Labour wants to spend on CSO's spent on real police work instead.

HMIC (Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary) has said that a cut beyond 12% would “almost certainly reduce police availability”. The UK Government thinks it is acceptable to force a cut of 20% to the policing budget during times of recession - this makes no sense.  Our Police forces cannot ill afford to lose some of their most experienced police officers, who will be the first to go.

I sincerely that wish someone would explain to me (and everyone else) exactly how the UK Government honestly expects to see a fall in crime rates at the same time as it is slashing resources and is planning to reduce the number of civilian support staff and Police Officers.

Following the devolution of criminal justice, Plaid will launch a National Commission on Policing. This comprehensive project will look at the future role and functions of Welsh police forces, including what people in Wales want from their police authorities and the changing demands of a 21st century Wales.

Despite everything the UK Government has forced through plans which will see responsibility for appointing Police Commissioners given to the Secretary of State for Wales, despite the Welsh Assembly's opposition to the move. With that in mind, Plaid will continue to oppose the introduction of elected police commissioners, as Plaid believes that ideology and politics should not be a part of our criminal justice system.

GWENT POLICE BUDGET CUTS

News that Gwent Police are to face cuts of more than £24 million over the next four years is not good news. this is a direct consequence of the Con Dem Westminster government's recent comprehensive spending review, which as everyone knows has seriously slashed public spending across the board. Gwent Police are now going to be engaged in a prolonged bout of belt tightening as the force comes to terms with seriously reduced funding.

The South Wales Argus (27.01.2011), notes that Gwent Police will announce its budget plans on the 9th February, when some of the detail as to how the force will cut some £3 million in 2011/12 on top of potential savings of £7.6 million made in 2010/11. The budget for 2010/11 was set at £121.616 million. The Argus also notes that the outgoing Chief Constable Mick Giannasi stated that officer numbers would not be cut during this financial year. Gwent Police Authority members were told that while the official figure is £22 million, the force has to allow ten percent cushion for any alterations in costs so in reality the figure is £24.6 million.

Retention of police Officers, on and off the beat, and civilian support staff should be the bottom line. Once you go down the line of cutting civilian support staff, which some may consider an easier and slightly more acceptable situation than reducing police numbers, there will be consequences. A reduction in civilian support staff numbers will inevitably lead to a reduction in the availability of operational police officers, which will have consequences for all of us.

Policing, just like everything else is driven by funding - this is the reality of modern (and old time) policing, our hard pressed Police Service (whether in Gwent, South Wales, Dyfed-Powys or North Wales) all need additional funding and an increase in the number of serving officers. On top of that our Police Officers actively need the active support of our communities, especially if we are seriously going to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour and to ensure proper Policing within our communities.

Now there is absolutely no reason why we cannot be far more creative when it comes to how are Communities are policed. We certainly need a more flexible approach to shift patterns to tackle those periods of the day when higher levels of criminal offences take place and need to actually respond to local communities real concerns rather than the Ministry of Justice's (formerly the Home Office) perceived priorities and targets.

We need to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past when it comes to basing Policing strategies on core or periphery because the end result is that some of our our communities will lose out when it comes to access to Police services and resources. If we want to curb crime in Wales, then it makes sense for the control of Policing as well as Justice and Prisons within Wales to be fully devolved to the National Assembly, much of this already happens in Scotland, are we less capable than the Scots or less of a nation than Scotland? - I think not!

ALL IN IT TOGETHER? PERHAPS NOT?

While many of us are bracing ourselves for the threatened public sector budget cuts, it appears that even the Old Bill are starting to get a tad twitchy at the prospect. Senior police officers are apparently seeking protection from the worst of the public spending cuts, so that Police forces can deal more effectively with any rise in social and industrial tension.

Chief Superintendent Derek Barnett (the Police Superintendents' Association President) will in a speech the Police Superintendents Annual Conference, in Cheshire this Wednesday, state that there is a need for a "strong and confident" police force in the face of government austerity measures. So much for the idea of us all being in it together! To make things potentially more interesting the Con Dem Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to be in the audience at the conference.

So we have reached the point where the Con Dems are planning to cut Police (both uniformed and civilian support staff) numbers whilst we are dealing with the effects of the recession. So much for being Conservative this is radically new territory, even Mrs Thatcher (in her more lucid moments well before she went mad towards the end of her tenure as PM) never ever considered doing this for one moment.

Far from it, Mr’s T in the early days of her premiership made real efforts to raise Police pay (and to improve conditions) – something which won her a combination of tacit approval, tacit support or tacit indifference from the Police service at the time, which had been neglected under the previous struggling (Old) Labour Government. In the 1970's there had been an erosion of police pay and working conditions. This was certainly not the case under New Labour who raised Police numbers and ensured that they consistently pretty well paid.

So perhaps this is the real financial rubicon - the real indicator about the scale of the price we will all have to pay for a combination of New Labour’s ‘reckless spending’, the ongoing financial legacy of Blair’s wars, bailing out the banks, replacing Trident (which is an essential prop if Britain wants to continue stride the world stage whilst clinging on to the pretension's of being a World power), etc.

David (“Call me Dave”) Cameron's Con Dem Government's is paused on the question of not so much as to cut or not to cut, but more a matter of how deep and how severe the cuts will be? Things must be bad if the Con Dems are seriously talking about reducing Police numbers and cutting back on operational policing and the myriad of police support workers who fulfil a hundred routine (and not so routine) tasks behind the front line? Heaven help the rest of us?

And of course as Policing is not devolved this is a decision that will be made in Westminster which could have a significant impact upon communities the length and breadth of Wales. The Plaid MP's in Westminster will no doubt eloquently make the case for Wales (they always do!) but the massed ranks of Conservatives and their Lib Dem little helpers will no doubt overrule the voices of reason from within the Plaid ranks. The sooner Policing and Home Affairs are devolved to the National Assembly in Wales the better...

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

Oh Boy! Here we go again, a few years ago we had the botched New Labour attempt to reorganise our Police Services now the Tories are at it! For starters the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) which was only established four years ago (by New Labour) is going to be abolished. it is worth remembering that, in 2009, Soca was heavily criticised when statistics revealed that for every £15 of public money spent, barely £1 was recovered from criminals and criminals' assets. 

The home secretary has proposed amongst other things the establishment of a new national crime-fighting agency (no doubt soon to be known as the British FBI). All well and good, but, it gets even more interesting as people will also be able to vote in two years' time for locally-elected officials to oversee each police force.

Policing in the 21st century - is described by the Home Office as a radical blueprint designed to make the service more efficient and accountable - with Elections taking place in May 2012 for police and crime commissioners to replace Police Authorities, which will have the power to set police force budgets and appoint and dismiss Police force chief constables. As you would expect both police Authorities and Senior Police officers may well be described as being less than chuffed at the prospect.

The new National Crime Agency (NCA) will include a new border police unit, the child exploitation and on-line protection centre (CEOP) and some parts of the National Policing Improvement Agency (which may well be phased out). The NCA will concentrate on cross-border organised crime, drug trafficking, and provide support to individual Police forces. 

Now, while there is room for cost cutting and room for improving Police force administrative processes and procedures the Tories run a very real risk of overtly politicising our police service. Such a move would be hugely detrimental.

Good and proper policing is by consent and there is a risk that this consent may break down if the police becomes politicised, especially if our Police services ends up doing things for overtly political ends. The sooner Home Office and Ministry of Justice functions are devolved to Cardiff where they will be accountable to the Welsh people, the better.

THE THIN BLUE LINE...

A measure of understanding on the attitude from the new Government towards our Police forces may be gleaned from the proposed cuts that have been announced by Nick Herbert (Policing and Criminal Justice Minister ) as part of a UK-wide cut of £125m in funding for forces. South Wales Police faces cuts of £2.8m, North Wales Police faces cuts of £1.4m, while Gwent Police faces cuts of £1.3m and Dyfed-Powys Police cuts of around £900,000. The cuts in funding for 2010/2011 have been announced as part of efforts to help reduce the UK's budget deficit

During the final stages of the last Westminster Election Campaign, everyone (and every political party) was heard calling ever loudly for more Police Officers on the beat which happened to be something which most people wanted to see. Now if you are lucky and get a quiet moment and you use it to ask any senior Police officer about beat policing, then especially in a guarded quiet moment and you may get told that it's probably one of the most inefficient form of Policing going, with officers walking for (on average) something like 49 miles before they come across a crime in progress.

Now while this may be true, it obviously ignores the deterrence and reassurance that is generated on our streets and in our communities and may well be influenced by pressures from the Ministry of Justice, a lack of Police officers and the need to generate reams and reams of arrest related statistics. Maybe this is driven by a desire for local bobbies on the beat that goes back to an earlier simpler era, maybe it’s TV inspired nostalgia driven desire for that mythical Dixon of Dock Green / Heartbeat figure which has now almost become a real historical memory – until killed off by successive police reorganisations, force mergers, budget cuts and top down largely then Home Office driven changes in the way our communities are policed i.e. panda cars, the loss of local Police stations, reduced opening hours, etc.

Now nostalgia and Policing are a particularly heady and dangerous mix, I can personally recall Conservative politicians in the 1990's who argued against the use of body armour, stab vests and side handled batons, pepper sprays, etc – saying that it would change the nature of Policing, create unbreakable barriers of hostility between the public and the Police, end tradition, etc. All that aside, one thing all of those things did was significantly reduce the number of Police Officers stabbed and killed in line of their duty – so enough with the nostalgia.

When it comes dealing with crime and effects of crime on our communities we really have to get past the usual meaningless platitudes about being tough on crime, etc. Certainly in the final weeks of the Westminster campaign the voters heard plenty of them what with the various London based parties making much out of how they were going to get serious about cutting crime, reducing anti social behaviour, and making our communities safer. Now that the dust had settled, then we shall all get a measure of the new government and see how they act as the empty rhetoric fades away.

Cuts, are not the answer, for unless we will actually seriously invest in the Welsh Police Services and make more creative use of existing financial and manpower resources. We could begin to make our communities safer by making more use of Community Support Officers, but without full powers of arrest, and lacking in proper training this can be nothing more than a temporary short term solution, what we need are more Police Officers.

Policing, just like everything else is driven by funding - this is the reality of modern (and old time) policing, our hard pressed Police Service (whether in Gwent, South Wales, Dyfed-Powys or North Wales) all need additional funding and an increase in the number of serving officers. On top of that our Police Officers actively need the active support of our communities, especially if we are seriously going to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour and to ensure proper Policing within our communities.

We need a more flexible approach to shift patterns to tackle those periods of the day when higher levels of criminal offences take place and need to actually respond to local communities real concerns rather than the Ministry of Justice's (formerly the Home Office) perceived priorities and targets. We need to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past when it comes to basing Policing strategies on core or periphery because the end result is that some of our our communities will lose out when it comes to access to Police services and resources.

The fact that the Ministry of Justice (and lets be honest changing the name has not fixed the basic problem) has long lost the plot and has become bogged down in a morass of spin, number crunching, paperwork, bureaucracy and red tape; add to the fact that it largely exists in an unreal world far removed from the realities of day-to-day policing on streets of Abergavenny, Caldicot, Cwmbran, Newport, Underwood or Tredegar, let alone Llanbedr Pont Steffan (especially on a Saturday night at chucking out time).

If we are really serious about reforming and reorganising Policing then we need to develop a coherent national community safety strategy for Wales with a clear approach to tackling crime and the fear of crime in our communities. And ask and answer the hard questions: do we want two tier Policing? Should Policing target be generated by local Police officers and local communities, where are we going to find the money, because Policing is not cheap?

If we want to solve or curb crime in Wales, then it makes sense for the control of Policing as well as Justice and Prisons within Wales to be fully devolved to the National Assembly, much of this already happens in Scotland, are we less capable than the Scots or less of a nation than Scotland? - I think not!

REAL POLICING PLEDGE

I am more than happy to pledge my support to the campaign and keep constables at the heart of the communities they serve. For at the heart of modern day policing sits the vital Office of Constable, a fully trained and warranted police constable is able to deal with a wide range of diverse duties, from statement taking, crowd control and first aid. This is why I have supported the Real Policing Pledge Campaign (http://www.realpolicingpledge.co.uk) which has been organised by the Constables’ Central Committee. Policing on the cheap will never work, the price for any cuts or reduction in our Police service will be paid by both our communities and our Police officers.

The Real Policing Pledge:

• Uphold the office of constable as the bedrock of modern policing
• Maintain the number of warranted police constables in England and Wales
• Ensure that all constables are adequately trained to do their jobs
• Commit to maintain an effective ratio of police constables to support staff on community policing teams
• Honour the Police Negotiating Board (PNB)
  

Our Police officers are duty bound to protect life and property and can be called into service 24 hours a day 365 days a year. While their civilian community support officers, civilian investigators and detention officers make a vital contribution, they are unable to have as much impact as a regular warranted police constable, which is why our police officers need our continued support. We need more Police Officers, who are properly trained, properly funded, properly supported and out on the beat in the heart of our communities not wading through paperwork and administrative tasks.