South Wales PEEL 2018

South Wales Police is good at preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour.

Prevention is at the core of the force’s approach to reducing crime and keeping people safe. Neighbourhood officers and staff have the resources and support they need to prevent crime. Neighbourhood teams are proactive in their communities, with a focus on preventing crime before it happens.

The force is good at protecting the public from harm. It has a strong understanding of the threats facing communities, and its proactive approach seeks to tackle the causes of crime. The force has good working relationships with a range of partner organisations.

We found good examples of problem solving and the use of preventative tactics as part of the daily work of local officers.

The force needs to make sure that it is co-ordinating and evaluating work to address neighbourhood problems as effectively as possible. It also needs to evaluate its prevention activity and share it routinely.

This question was not subject to detailed inspection in 2018/19, and our judgment from the 2016 effectiveness inspection has been carried over.

South Wales Police is good at understanding and identifying vulnerability. It has a clear definition of vulnerability. Officers and staff discuss vulnerability daily. Protecting vulnerable people is a clear priority for the force.

Officers and staff receive training in how to identify hidden forms of vulnerability. Staff from the multi-agency safeguarding hubs (MASH) show a good understanding of the challenges presented by hidden vulnerability.

Call handlers use the THRIVE model when risk assessing calls, and the force responds to incidents promptly when vulnerable victims are involved.

Staff in the mental health triage team have access to health records. This means they can support an effective response to victims.

The force needs to improve the ways in which it provides ongoing support to vulnerable victims. It also needs to put long-term measures in place to effectively support victims of domestic abuse.

The force makes good use of legal powers to protect victims of domestic abuse. It is effective in managing offenders who are known to pose a risk to vulnerable people. The force has achieved a positive reduction in the number of registered sex offenders awaiting assessment.

This question was not subject to detailed inspection in 2018/19, and our judgment from the 2016 effectiveness inspection has been carried over.

We have previously inspected how well forces provide armed policing. This formed part of our 2016 and 2017 effectiveness inspections. Subsequent terrorist attacks in the UK and Europe have meant that the police service maintains a focus on armed capability in England and Wales.

It is not just terrorist attacks that place operational demands on armed officers. The threat can include the activity of organised crime groups or armed street gangs and all other crime involving guns. The Code of Practice on the Police Use of Firearms and Less Lethal Weapons (PDF document) makes forces responsible for implementing national standards of armed policing. The code stipulates that a chief officer be designated to oversee these standards. This requires the chief officer to set out the firearms threat in an armed policing strategic threat and risk assessment (APSTRA). The chief officer must also set out clear rationales for the number of armed officers (armed capacity) and the level to which they are trained (armed capability).