Work of North Wales Police under spotlight at recent review

The work of North Wales Police has come under the spotlight as part of a recent review by the region’s police and crime commissioner.

At the quarterly Strategic Executive Board, which took place on 8 May, the PCC and his team met with the Chief Officers of North Wales Police to review overall Force performance, including against the priorities in the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan.

At the most recent meeting, chaired by recently re-elected PCC Andy Dunbobbin, the Chief Constable provided an update on North Wales Police performance from the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

The survey reflects how the public see policing for their area, with the meeting told that and North Wales was ranked in first place in England and Wales in three separate categories – treating people fairly; treating people with respect; and understanding local concerns.

The board was also told that for the year 2023/24 North Wales Police increased the positive outcome rate for all crimes by three per cent.

The commissioner then examined in depth force performance on Organised Immigration Crime and Modern Slavery. The areas looked at included:

• The governance and leadership arrangements including accountability and oversight.
• How North Wales Police tackle such crimes in operations with partner agencies such as the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit.
• How investigations are resourced and progressed.
• How intelligence is gathered and used.
• How officers and staff are trained to identify these crimes.

The second area scrutinised was the work of the Contact Centre also known as the Force Control Room, where calls to the Force and other emergency services come in.

At the Board, the Commissioner and his team shared with the Chief Constable a ‘dip sampling exercise; that staff from the Commissioner’s Office had undertaken. This was a large piece of work that looked at specific matters including:

• How calls are handled once answered.
• Dispatch of incidents.
• Incident recording to make sure proper resources are used.
• The Crime Data Integrity Unit in line with national requirements.
• Work of the Managed Response Unit (MRU) to reduce demand on frontline resources.

Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales Andy Dunbobbin said: “The Strategic Executive Board enables me to examine how the Chief Constable is performing in critical areas, particularly those in my Police and Crime Plan.

“Organised Immigration Crime and Modern Slavery is classed as serious and organised crime and I apply particular scrutiny to both issues.

“My staff and I heard how the Force is concentrating on making North Wales a hostile environment for criminals by increasing intelligence gathering, collaborating with partner agencies and ensuring officers and staff have the correct training to spot the signs of these heinous crimes.

“I was reassured that victims are being protected and criminals will be brought to justice.

“In respect of examining the North Wales Police Contact Centre, my team conducted a thorough dip sampling exercise to make sure that when the public phone in, email or use web chat to report crime or provide information, they are dealt with speedily and professionally.

“I was also incredibly pleased to hear the latest results from the Crime Survey for England and Wales and the excellent results delivered by the officers and staff from North Wales Police to our communities across North Wales.

“These are excellent results and demonstrates that the Force’s visibility, engagement and positivity is being recognised by the public.

“As I have been re-elected as PCC to serve North Wales, I want to again reassure the public that I will continue to scrutinise the Force performance and work closely with the Chief Constable to support the ongoing work.”

Residents can learn more about the Strategic Executive Board and read minutes of past meetings on the OPCC website.