Arfon Jones, Plaid Cymru Profile + Q&A

Q8. The PCC role is mooted to expand to include taking on strategic direction of the fire service, and perhaps become a blue light commissioner with responsibility for all the emergency services. What are your views on this and do you think there are savings to be made by for example asking fire or police officers to act as paramedics, or for paramedics and fire officers to deal with the policing aspects of road incidents?

Q9. What scope do you think the “and crime” element of the role provides? What influence do you expect to exert on justice policy beyond policing, with prisons, probation and the courts for example.

If elected my first role would be to hold meetings with the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the cost of policing HMP Berwyn does not fall on the Wrexham taxpayer and that a central government grant should cover the cost of policing the prison. I also want to encourage greater use of restorative justice as an alternative to doing things in the same old way.’ 85% of victims who have gone through restorative justice processes have expressed satisfaction with the process and somewhere between 14% (UK) and 23% (New Zealand) of offenders do not re-offend.

Q10. Have you ever committed a crime? What happened?

No, only the odd speeding tickets over the years, but I must say that attending a Speed Awareness Course was far more effective for me and many others in realising the dangers of excessive speed.

Q11. Do we currently have any laws you disagree with that you do, or would be prepared to, break?

There are laws which I believe are unjust and are purely aimed at protecting the state and corporations and denting our civil and human rights but I would not be prepared to break the law. Protest against them, yes.

Q12. Have you ever taken recreational drugs, and do you think we should treat recreational drug addiction as a criminal or a health problem?

Q13. Will you publish the police incident log online, after appropriate redactions?

Not sure I know what you mean here, I don’t think it is realistic or cost effective to publish every Police incident log, there would be thousands of them.

Q14. Do you think the UK leaving the EU would make North Wales more, or less, safe?

I personally think we should remain in the EU and that we would be less safe if we were to leave. I am convinced by the arguments put forwarded by the former Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer MP in this article David Cameron’s threat to leave EU is security risk, says Keir Starmer

Q15.  Can you commit to maintain the current number of police constables per thousand of the population?

I’m 61 years old and originally from Harlech, Gwynedd, but now live in Gwersyllt, Wrecsam, with my wife Gwenfair. We have two daughters and 4 grandchildren.

I was educated at Ysgol Ardudwy, Harlech, and then studied in what is now UWIC in Cardiff. I then worked for the Cheshire Area Health Authority at the old Chester City Hospital.

In 1978, I left the Health Service to join the North Wales Police at Tywyn, Gwynedd, where I was stationed as an uniformed Constable. Whilst in Tywyn, I met my wife of 35 years and, after our wedding, was stationed at Abergynolwyn and later Coedpoeth. Whilst at Coedpoeth, I successfully completed Detective training at Wakefield

In November 1985, I was promoted to uniformed Sergeant at Ruabon, a busy urban sub-divisional headquarters where I and others were responsible for 24/7 response policing of a large area as well as custody at various stations in the sub-division.

In early 1987, I transferred on secondment to the No1 Regional Criminal Intelligence Office at Greater Manchester Police headquarters. The No1 RCIO is now part and parcel of the National Crime Agency. At that time there were six Detective Sergeants in the RCIO representing the six forces in the No 1 policing region who acted as liaison between the operational Regional Crime Squads and the individual forces in identifying criminals who crossed force boundaries to commit crime.

On returning to North Wales in late 1990, I was posted as one of the two uniformed Sergeants at Rhuthun, for three years. This was without doubt my favourite posting  where I worked with some great people, both Police Officers and Police staff and many of whom I am still in touch with today. Rhuthun was far busier then than what one would imagine with plenty going on with the highlights being the New Year celebrations on the square which could change from year to year from extremely well behaved to ‘sheer bedlam’.

I then transferred as a uniformed Sergeant to Rhosllannerchrugog, near Wrexham, where I attended and managed a number of serious incidents.

I then moved to Police Headquarters to support the Communications Project for North Wales Police, which aimed to streamline call handling from one big control room and 23 smaller ones to 3 Area Control Rooms, in Wrexham, Colwyn Bay and Caernarfon. This resulted in many more calls being answered but subsequent decisions saw the force return to one control room in St Asaph but call handling remains an issue with many complaints from the public.

 The Government then decided to impose a “one size fits all” digital radio communication system on the 42 forces and I continued in my role to implement the BT Airwave system, which is now well established and accepted.

I then stayed in headquarters as an Acting Inspector within CID both in Crime Strategy and Child Protection and was responsible for implementing the recommendations of Sir Ronald Waterhouse’s report on abuse in North Wales’s Children’s homes (Lost in Care). I later worked as Acting Inspector in the Control Rooms as one of several 24/7 Force Incident Managers.

On finally being promoted  Inspector I returned to the Eastern Division of the force at Wrexham where I worked as an Inspector at Rhosllannerchrugog, and then Inspector for both Wrexham and Flintshire counties responsible for police operations, custody and complaints within a team of 5 other Inspectors covering 2 shifts (18 hours) 7 days a week.

During my 30 years with the Police I obtained a HNC in Police Studies, a BSc (Hons) degree in Social Sciences with the Open University and an MA degree in US Politics and History at Keele University.

I also served for many years as a Police Federation representative in North Wales being past Chair and Secretary of both the Sergeants and Inspectors’ Branch Boards.

I retired from North Wales Police in January 2008 and in May of that year I stood successfully as a Plaid Cymru candidate in the Council elections for my home ward of Gwersyllt West and was one of four Plaid Cymru Councillors elected. I was re-elected in 2012.

From 2008 to 2012, I was lead member for Children’s Social Care and Prevention and Inclusion for Wrexham County Borough Council and sat on the Executive Board.

Since 2012, I have chaired the Council’s Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee as well as being chair of the Wrexham locality committee of the North Wales Community Health Council, the patient’s watchdog. I am also a past member of the North Wales Fire Authority.

Outside my political and council work, my spare time is taken up with my grandchildren and Wrexham Football Club. I also like to travel both locally and abroad.

“As Police Commissioner my first job would be to carry out a review of core policing in North Wales. There are indications that over 60% of Police work is work that other agencies should be doing.

“Savings could be made by targeting resources more effectively, i.e. Youth Justice does excellent work but better resourcing could see them intervening earlier and diverting young people away from crime.

“A lot of money is wasted by arresting the most vulnerable in society. Jailing homeless veterans is self defeating. We need better partnership working to support the vulnerable.

“I will also campaign for better policing of protests and sporting events. Policing of such events does not always seem to be as impartial or proportionate as it should be.

“There should be more emphasis on roads policing to reduce those killed or seriously injured, particularly amongst young people.

“I would provide all frontline officers with ‘Body Worn Videos’ which would improve evidence gathering and secure more convictions, especially in ‘domestic violence’ cases. It would help resolve complaints against police.

“I would also pledge not to outsource police services and ensure that tendering for services benefits the economy of North Wales as far as is practicable.

“Finally, I would liaise closely and seek to negotiate with the National Offender Management Service regarding policing issues around the new prison in Wrexham and that cost of policing the prison was fully reimbursed and did not fall on North Wales taxpayers.

(Other candidate profiles + Q&A’s: Arfon Jones, Julian Sandham, David Taylor, Simon Wall, Matt Wright)