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 through form filing or the completion of questionnaires, but more involved victims and survivors of abuse talking to the likes of the Police, Probation service and other key partners. For younger people who were the subject of abuse, there was a piece of work entitled ‘Young Voices’ that a pathway for those suffering from abuse to speak personally to higher dignitaries in the Police including up to the level of herself, the Chief Constable and the Chief Commissioner, where the issues they had experienced would be addressed if need be, at the highest possible level. There were statutory services that provided avenues of support (in between Court Orders), to both support and intervene with the aim of reducing offenders and changing their behavioural patterns. There were also a number of different metrics used that measured and evaluated various impacts and outcomes, with again, a view to reduce re-offending and cases of harm. She was able to share examples of this with Members on request.

The Police Commissioner added, that the Police also targeted cases of low level violence as this was often a precursor to violence of a higher level then subsequently occurring. He added that a lot of individuals developed this type of nature due to their upbringing or subsequent life’s events having a detrimental impact upon them.

A Member pointed out that she was very pleased with the work of the PCSO’s in Coity Higher. She was aware that Hate Crime was seemingly fairly low in the County Borough, though she questioned if all incidents relating to this were actually being recorded. The likes of bullying, trolling and on-line toxicity seemed to becoming more and more apparent in society. Some Councillors including herself, sometimes felt vulnerable to the above. She asked therefore, how the Police could work with Councillors and other politicians in order that they may in turn, feel more protected. The Member also stated that the Council’s Highway Authority needed to work more closely with the Police, in order to fully resolve reported highway issues.

The Police Commissioner acknowledged that the last point the Member made was a common issue and that any action required resulting from any issue or complaint, needed to be taken ownership of and dealt with by either or both organisations jointly, as opposed to this falling between two stools and not resolved by either. In terms of Hate Crime, there was a problem now in what was allowed to be acceptable in terms of placing in Social Media platforms, for example, the ‘Dark Web’ which had originated abroad.

The Deputy Commissioner added that the Police were actively focussing on hate crime/incidents. Some Scrutiny work had been carried out in terms of how data was recorded in order to improve accurate levels of incidents, to actively take action to improve methods of dealing with these. There had also been further work done with Welsh Government on the subject of Hate/Race crime. Women were 27 times more likely to face hate crime then men. The Police were also scoping some work with two key partnership providers and as part of this work, were looking to consult with a range of different community groups and partners and she added that it would be beneficial if there was some elected Member involvement in this too.

The Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Regeneration, confirmed that an Action Plan had just been released by Welsh Government, called the LGBTQ Plus. He asked the police representatives what work had been done to ensure homophobia, misogyny, biphobia and transphobia is being combated both within the community and in the forces, ie such as the South Wales Constabulary, so that when job applications are made to the Police they are considered not just on their own merit, but also with a level of understanding and compassion.

The Chief Commissioner advised that there were a number of younger Police Officers and PSCO’s now with the new recruitment surge having taken place, resulting in some of the older Officers having retired and the recruitment process had involved applicants with some of those attitudes and values firmly in place. He assured that there was a strong commitment from both the Chief Constable and himself, to root out and deal with some of the above examples given. The main ethos of the Police was to ‘prevent acts of crime’, so that’s why a police force was needed in the first instance, hence eradicating bad habits and attitudes some people have in society against others. He added that Police Officers now actually participate in activities such as PRIDE, to promote groups such as this and assist in combating any hate crime and disorder.

A Member pointed out that sometime ago in 2009, Sir Paul Stephenson recommended that police patrols didn’t need to include ‘doubling up’ of Officers. However, lone Police Officers can generate some anxiety, particular with vulnerable groups and in winter hours of darkness. We also have transport providers, ie railway stations and community bus stops and bus stations, where some people feel similarly vulnerable using these in the evenings or later at night. He asked if there was any partnership working taking place, that could address issues such as this.

The Chief Commissioner confirmed that lone policing was an operational issue that was considered by the Chief Constable of Police. There was a balance to be struck in terms of the point just made, in that if for example, two PCSO’s worked together in one specific location, then this would take one of them away from patrolling another area of that community. This could then be looked at as a method whereby the Police were not fully utilising the resources available to them. However, in terms of the transport issue so raised, representatives of British Transport Police were represented on the Task Force and at an All Wales level, so he confirmed that he would raise this issue with them. Looking more at community safety in general, the Police Commissioner advised that the Police were continually actively working with local authorities with the aim of making streets safer, particularly for women and younger people and this included at main transport hubs, bus stops and bus/railway stations.

For more information on debate that took place at the meeting please click here

As this concluded consideration of this item, including the question answer session, the Mayor thanked the Police representatives for attending Council, following which, they retired from the meeting. 

RESOLVED:                             That Council noted the report and the accompanying presentation from the South Wales Police representatives.