The Chief Executive presented a report that introduced the South Wales Police Chief Commissioner Alun Michael and the Deputy Commissioner Emma Wools to the meeting, in order to give a presentation on the work of the Police, including some new initiatives.

The Chief Commissioner gave an introduction and referred to the Police and Crime Plan that had been introduced a number of years ago and developed year on year since that time. This reflected what the Police were getting in terms of feedback from the likes of the public and local Councillors and how the South Wales Police were looking to react to change.

He emphasised that partnership working with key stakeholders and partners such as BCBC was at the heart of the work of the Police. He added that in recent times, confidence in policing had become an issue, following events that had taken place in the Metropolitan Police, which had cast a dark shadow over policing in general. However, he wished to make the point that South Wales Police had a different reputation with regards to protecting the public at a high level.

He wished to point out, that levels of crime in the area had reduced and these compared favourable on an All Wales level.

In today’s presentation the Deputy Commissioner and himself, would look at 3 main aspects of work, namely Neighbourhood Policing, with funding having been received from Central Government for further Police Officers and PCSO’s, a number of whom had been promoted to Police Constables since there had been made additional funding for these positions. Also, topics of discussion would revolve around Violence against Women, including sexual violence and work ongoing to reduce Racism.

The Deputy Commissioner then shared with Members some slides that covered the above areas of ongoing Police work, following which the Mayor invited questions from Members.

The Deputy leader and Cabinet Member for Social Services and Health confirmed that she was pleased to see the strides that had been made in relation to Domestic Violence against women in particular and, that lived experiences are being used to formulate policy, but sought some explanation on how this was being carried out. She also asked if there would be Performance Indicators put in place to gauge the success of this work. She also asked if she could have some reassurance how the Police were actively dealing with any referrals made to them in respect of the welfare of young people. She also pointed out that if there were a lot of repeat offenders re-offending, then did this not reflect that the processes in place were not as effective as they should be.

In terms of repeat offending the Police Crime Commissioner advised that repeat offenders were educated through the form of Agency working, ie with partners as well as involvement through a number of key Criminal Justice bodies, working on this and the issue of lived experiences. The Deputy Police Commissioner stated that issues such as the above examples were not resolved  ...  view the full minutes text for item 143