Acting On Your Behalf

Ever wondered who scrutinises the police? Dyfed Powys Police Authority acts for the residents of Dyfed-Powys by looking at everything your Force does, making sure that it is efficient and effective by scrutinising its functions.

At the last meeting of the Police Authority’s Planning, Performance and Scrutiny Committee there was a detailed examination of how the Police Force had performed over the last quarter.

The results were very positive and found that areas identified by the public as priorities for 2009/10 were largely being achieved. The number of offenders charged with Class A drug trafficking rose by 75% compared to the same period last year; this is seen as very positive outcome, as a rise in the number of offenders charged means that the Force is more proactive and effective in tracking down those involved in drug dealing. The number of ‘violence against the person’ offences recorded following incidents of domestic abuse fell by 6.3%, and the number of cases of rowdy, nuisance and inconsiderate behaviour reported fell by 6.3%.

The Committee also reviewed Force performance against its promise to residents - the Policing Pledge. One area for improvement noted was in the levels of satisfaction of victims of crime in terms of how easy they felt it was to contact the Force. The Committee were assured that additional resources would be applied in promoting the non-emergency number – 101 - which was now available across Wales.

Members of the Committee also questioned an apparent fall in the number of people satisfied with the level of information fed back to them by police once an incident had been reported. The Force stressed that processes were being developed to allow the victim to agree with a designated police officer, the frequency of contact they required. The delivery of this agreement would then be monitored by the Police Authority.

On a more positive note, it was recognised that crime overall was down by 6.4% with many types of crime lower than anywhere else in England and Wales.

The proportion of crimes solved rose by 3.6%, underlining the fact that residents in this area are not only less likely to be a victim of crime, but the offenders are also more likely to get caught and successfully prosecuted, with the levels of offenders being brought to justice being the highest in England and Wales.

The next meeting of the Planning, Performance and Scrutiny Committee is due to be held on Wednesday 19th May 2010 at the Police Authority Office, Police Headquarters, Llangunnor Carmarthen. This meeting is open to the public and the public are more than welcome to attend if they wish to do so.

If you require any further information surrounding the meetings and the issues discussed, please contact the Police Authority on 01267 226440 or police.authority@dyfed-powys.pnn.police.uk