AT THE MOST recent Strategic Executive Board meeting, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Andy Dunbobbin joined the Chief Officers of North Wales Police to review overall Force performance, including the priorities in the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan. Through the Board the PCC continues to hold the Chief Constable, Amanda Blakeman KPM, to account.
The PCC received an update from the Chief Constable on the overall performance of North Wales Police. This covered areas such as finance, resourcing, risk, HMICFRS inspections, and the estates strategy. The agenda also featured information on the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) and Right Care Right Person (RCRP). The SPRis a statutory framework issued by the Home Secretary that directs police forces in England and Wales on how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from cross-boundary and national security threats. RCRP is a multi-agency partnership framework in England and Wales designed to ensure that vulnerable people—particularly those experiencing mental health crises or welfare concerns—receive the right support from trained health and social care professionals, rather than relying on the police.
As part of the PCC’s scrutiny model the meeting concentrated on two deep dive areas for closer review. The first of which was rural and wildlife crime and the second police responsiveness.
The Commissioner heard how rural and wildlife crime is tackled by North Wales Police including:
- The regional and national partnerships that the Rural Crime Team work with.
- An overview of police performance and trends in relation to rural and wildlife crime.
- The resources distributed for the investigation of offences and how they are deployed.
- Prevention initiatives and work on increasing public confidence to report information through engagement.
The Commissioner also reviewed the work of North Wales Police with regards to the Force Control Centre and how police respond when members of the public make contact. This contained:
- Quality of service delivered and current performance in relation to response times to incidents, such as 999 and 101 calls.
- How the police mitigate any risks and problem solve the issues.
- How the calls are dealt with from people with specific needs such as restricted hearing or who prefer to communicate in Welsh or another language.
There was an update as to how the Chief Constables implements SPR obligations and maintains operational readiness for the national threats covered in the SPR, namely:
- Violence Against Women and Girls
- Counter Terrorism
- Serious and Organised
- National Cyber Incidents
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Public Disorder
- Civil Emergencies
Finally, the PCC received an update on RCRP and how North Wales Police continue to implement their approach for responding to mental health incidents. In line with other police forces in England and Wales, RCRP involves assessing if the police are the proper service to respond. While some mental health related incidents may need the police, other services may be more appropriate.
PCC Andy Dunbobbin said: “I continue to use the Strategic Executive Board to enable me to scrutinise how the Chief Constable is performing in key areas.
“North Wales has a thriving rural community which is especially important to me. The work that North Wales Police are doing with rural communities is reassuring.
“The Rural Crime Team continues to support farmers and those who live and work in our rural areas. I was pleased to be updated on the many initiatives and the involvement of key partners in the community.
“Rural communities are at the heart of North Wales, and my recent rural crime prevention event at Ruthin Town Hall showed my commitment in listening to and acting on the feedback from members of the public.
“I also received a presentation from the Force Control Centre staff on the work to improve responsiveness to calls for service.
“By responsiveness I mean how quickly a call is answered, how well is it dealt with, and how quickly the Force attends the incident if needed. I heard how the Force is performing with regards to calls for service, including from 999 and 101 calls.
“As PCC for North Wales, I will continue to provide reassurance to the public that I robustly 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’s Strategic Executive Board page.
