In making this first PEEL Assessment of Gwent I have taken into account the challenges to policing in rural towns, stretches of countryside and urban areas such as the City of Newport.
Gwent is economically and culturally diverse with areas of affluence and deprivation. Large regeneration and housing projects in the Newport and Valley areas will bring benefits and challenges in the years to come and large volumes of traffic are carried through the M4 to the east presenting a constant risk of organised crime.
The area hosted the 2014 NATO Summit which had substantial resource implications for the force and was an excellent policing operation. The force is part of the all-Wales counter-terrorism unit, known as WECTU, and the serious and organised crime collaboration, known as Tarian, which has mature and effective arrangements.
I have been concerned about the way the force is operating and in particular by its deteriorating performance. The absence of a credible plan to meet its savings requirement presents a risk, making it more difficult for the force to bring about the necessary improvements. The force needs a more sophisticated understanding of the demand it faces and whether the reduced workforce has the required skills and rank mix to provide effective policing. In the light of some of these issues, the force has taken action to improve the position and I was reassured by HMIC’s reinspection findings of October 2014.
Gwent is not as effective as it needs to be at cutting crime and anti-social behaviour and victim satisfaction with police services in Gwent is one of the lowest of all forces in England and Wales although the force now recognises these challenges and has plans to bring about improvements.
The way the force manages the initial reporting of domestic abuse means that there was inconsistency in the approach to assessing the risks posed to victims. The force needs to do more to identify repeat and vulnerable victims. In contrast, specialist teams within Gwent provide a better service.
I am encouraged by the force’s work to instil ethical and professional behaviour. However, it needs to do more training on integrity issues, and building confidence in the workforce to challenge poor behaviour. I am aware that this process has already commenced under the leadership of the deputy chief constable.
I have concerns about the force’s approach to crime-recording, which is not as accurate as it should be.
Our intention is to examine leadership specifically as part of future PEEL Assessments, once criteria have been established. This will allow us to take account of the College of Policing review of leadership that is currently underway.
In common with other forces, there is a need to develop a better understanding of the changing demands for police services.
Over the past 12 months, there have been a number of inspections in Gwent which suggest an absence of consistency in the application of some force systems and processes. For example, vulnerable and repeat victims are not always identified.
I am interested to see how the force responds to the areas HMIC has identified for improvement over the next 12 months. In particular:
- the levels of victim satisfaction;
- improvements in tackling crime, particularly victim-based crime;
- improvements in tackling anti-social behaviour;
- the force’s approach to victim risk assessments under their proposed new operating model; and
- the follow-up to this year’s crime inspection.
Os hoffech chi ddarllen hwn trwy’r Gymraeg (PDF document)
