Performance and Measurement

Summary

Dyfed-Powys Police covers more than half the landmass of Wales and is the largest force area in England and Wales. Largely rural in nature, the area is served mostly by minor roads. Around a quarter of the 500,000 population are of retirement age, while outward migration is most pronounced in the 16–24 age group.

The force has been deemed to have met the required standards for major Crime. The Serious and Organised crime report has not been graded, although areas for improvement highlighted are already being addressed in parallel with improvements to protective services identified by the needs assessment conducted early in 2008.

Volume crime decreased during the year, with sharp falls in violent and acquisitive crime, while levels of life-threatening and gun crime remained stable. Existing strong performance around volume crime investigation has been consolidated, with the rates of offences brought to justice and sanction detections, among the highest in England and Wales. User satisfaction has remained stable and public confidence is reflected in historically low levels of perceived crime and exceptionally low levels of public fear and concern.

Major strides have been made in neighbourhood policing delivery, including redesign of the Force website, introduction of a detailed abstraction policy, an on-line reporting system and a bespoke performance management system around neighbourhood policing. Performance management has been reviewed and a new governance structure introduced to promote transparency. The Force secured extremely positive gradings, in the 2007 HMIC inspection, for protecting vulnerable people, but further improvements have been made including domestic abuse being made a standing item at basic command unit tasking meetings, work to ensure risk management levels of domestic abuse victims are flagged on a searchable system and the introduction of means to identify potentially dangerous persons already known to the force or partners. Missing persons training has been enhanced for key staff, Operations Room Inspectors received an input on Child Rescue Alert and a new package to record investigative actions implemented.

HMIC identified significant strides taken in delivery of neighbourhood policing and the work undertaken to ensure that this has become business as usual within the force. In spite of major organisational changes and significant operational commitments, performance across virtually all areas has remained strong. People are feeling safer, more secure and more confident in their local police. As well as a major fall in violent crime, the Force achieved reductions in virtually all crime categories, including criminal damage and vehicle crime. Chief Officers and the Authority have re-iterated their commitment to Operation Tarian, a proactive initiative tackling serious and organised crime across South Wales, with a specific focus on Class A drugs. This collaborative approach has developed further, with the establishment of the Wales Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit to take forward national strategy in this area within Wales.

Enhancing the force’s focus on organised crime groups and more serious crime (although these are few in number), maintaining a high quality service in crime reduction and detection and further enhancing trust and confidence within communities will pose significant challenges. Sustaining and developing neighbourhood policing through to neighbourhood management will also pose significant issues. Investment to comply with Safer Detention requirements will be another area of major work. Resources have been directed to implementation of automatic number plate recognition systems around the Force, and the development of a Roads Policing Strategy for Wales will present a notable challenge in taking this forward.