Philippine Officers Get a Taste of Policing in North Wales

A group of officers from the Philippines have been given an insight into community policing in North Wales – including a visit to Caia Park in Wrexham.

The group which includes police officers from Mindanao in the South of the Philippines, the secretary of their local authority, other senior figures from governing agencies, a representative from a rebel group involved in the long running internal conflict, and members of the British Council, arrived at Police Headquarters in Colwyn Bay on Monday to be met by the Chief Constable, the Deputy and Assistant Chief Constables and the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Facilitated by former North Wales Police officer Phillip Thomson, the group were given a tour of the Force Communication Centre and the custody suite at St Asaph. They visited the Divisional Headquarters in Wrexham and were taken to Caia Park to see how officers police the largest housing estate in North Wales.

Mr Thomson said: “Their area called the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao has been in conflict for 40 years, now that the government and the main rebel group have signed a peace process they are looking at introducing a different style of policing into the area.

“As North Wales is highly regarded for its community policing, the demographics match those of the relevant area of Mindanao in the Philippines, with both rural and urban areas, and in terms of policing, both have bilingual issues to deal with.”

Following the four day visit the group will return home and continue their work as a technical working group, to produce a strategy and tool kit for community policing, thanks to North Wales Police.

Mr Thomson added: “We wanted the trip to be aspirational, so this 12 month long project, managed by the British Council, will mean a new start for them all.”