This year, for the first time, we have assessed leadership across the force. The assessment has led to a narrative rather than graded judgment, which is summarised below.
Read more about my assessment of South Wales Police’s performance this year, including where I would like to see improvements next year.
Os hoffech chi ddarllen hwn trwy’r Gymraeg (PDF document)
I am very pleased with the performance of South Wales Police in keeping people safe and reducing crime.
The force is effective in preventing crime and the service provided to victims is reliable. The standards of investigation are generally high and there are good arrangements in place to tackle serious and organised crime. However, I do have some concerns about how call-handlers assess and record the vulnerability of callers when they first make contact with the force.
I am impressed by the force’s comprehensive understanding of the communities that it serves. The innovation and energy used by the force to work closely and engage with people in some of its most difficult areas to police is commendable. Working in partnership with the local authority in the Cwmaman area, ‘Project 446’ successfully improved community conditions and gave the police a greater understanding of community needs.
This extensive engagement with communities of South Wales has allowed the force to develop a good understanding of the demands for its services. The force is outstanding at using its resources to meet the demand for its services, while also reducing costs and improving service.
Description of force area
South Wales Police provides policing services to the areas of South, West and Mid-Glamorgan. Although there are some more affluent areas, South Wales has a high level of poverty. Around 1.3 million people mainly live in the urban centres which include the cities of Cardiff and Swansea as well as smaller towns. The resident population is increased by university students and the large numbers who visit, socialise in, commute into, or travel through the area each year. The transport infrastructure includes major rail stations, air and sea ports.
The proportion of areas in South Wales that are predicted to present a very high challenge to the police is higher than the national average. These are characterised by social deprivation or a concentration of commercial premises (including licensed premises), and in some cases both. Providing services across the entirety of the force area is hindered by the road network.
Working arrangements
The force has a number of collaborative working arrangements through the All Wales Policing Group, including joint firearms and scientific support capability and the Wales Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit.
Effectiveness
In our effectiveness inspection, we judged South Wales Police to be good at keeping people safe and reducing crime. In terms of preventing crime the force is effective and standards of investigation are generally high. Furthermore, the service provided to victims is reliable. However, in terms of protecting the vulnerable, call handlers do not always fully record the risks of 999 and 101 callers and the force needs to improve the service it provides to child victims. There are good arrangements in place to tackle serious and organised crime. This is the first year HMIC has graded forces on their overall effectiveness so a year-on-year comparison is not possible.
Efficiency
South Wales Police is very well prepared to face its future financial challenges. Through robust financial management and a commitment to continuous improvement, it has successfully reduced its spending over the last spending review period, and is effectively planning for future financial challenges. In last year’s value for money inspection, which considered how forces had met the challenge of the previous spending review period, South Wales Police was judged to be good.
Legitimacy
The ethical culture of the force is strong with significant efforts being made by the chief constable and senior team to lead by example. The force engages well with communities in South Wales and treats people with fairness and respect.
The use of Taser in South Wales Police is fair and appropriate, with robust oversight and accountability. The force does not comply with most aspects of the Best Use of Stop and Search scheme, however, and I have concerns over the recording of reasonable grounds and the lack of supervisory arrangements. However, the force has recognised this and has clear plans in place to address it.
This is the first time HMIC has graded forces on their legitimacy, so no year-on-year comparison is possible.
Leadership
South Wales Police is well led with a clear and motivating future direction that is linked to its organisational strategy. Its mission statement and vision are well understood by the workforce. The force is clear about the standards that are expected from its leaders and there is a well-established culture of focusing on quality of service. There is an understanding of the capability and capacity of the workforce.
Insights from other inspections
HMIC undertakes other inspections in addition to the PEEL programme. Since the last PEEL assessment there have been seven reports published on inspections that included South Wales Police. More detail on some of these inspections can be found under the Other inspections section.
I would draw particular attention to the child protection inspection which was conducted earlier this year. The inspection highlighted the need for the force to improve its handling of child protection cases and made various recommendations for the force to improve its overall service.
Looking ahead to PEEL 2016
In the year ahead, I will be interested to see how the force responds to this assessment and the areas for improvement that HMIC has identified in the last year.
I will be particularly interested to see:
- improvement in the service offered to medium and low-risk victims of domestic abuse;
- improvement in understanding the nature and scale of missing people and the handling of child abuse investigations; and
- compliance with the Best Use of Stop and Search scheme.
In May 2016, like the majority of forces in England and Wales, the force will see the second elections for its police and crime commissioner.
Darllenwch y Trawsgrifiad fideo yn Gymraeg (PDF document)
