Force ‘may not be adequately protecting vulnerable people’:

THERE are concerns about Dyfed-Powys Police’s performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime, a recent inspection found.

The latest Police Efficiency Effectiveness and Legitimacy (PEEL) inspection carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) states that the force is “good at investigating crime but it needs to improve how it prevents crime and anti-social behaviour.”

The inspection, published in May, was discussed at the July 3 meeting of the Police and Crime Panel, held at Ceredigion Council, Aberaeron.

It found neighbourhood policing “inconsistent” and although the force is good at understanding and identifying vulnerability, the inspector was concerned that “officers do not always complete a risk assessment when they respond to reports of domestic abuse.”

It found that the “force may not be adequately protecting vulnerable people.”

Three areas were assessed – effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy - which were found to be either good or needs improvement.

Effectiveness was said to be good: “We found that Dyfed-Powys Police is good at reducing crime and keeping people safe. The force needs to improve how it prevents crime and anti-social behaviour.”

It added: “The force needs to make sure it protects the public from crime consistently” and needed to improve how it protected vulnerable people, highlighting that it was good at supporting vulnerable victims.

When it came to efficiency, improvements were needed, said the inspectors, with a need to better understand demand to ensure resources are used appropriately.

“The force is improving its understanding of what the public expects, which will help it plan for future demand,” it adds.

Its “legitimacy” dropped from good in 2017 to requiring improvement in this inspection but notes that: “The force is good at treating the public fairly. Its policies emphasise fairness and respect.”

More data to monitor stop and search powers is needed although the workforce understands how and when to use the powers, the report states.

It adds that more needs to be done on spotting and managing risk of corruption as part of its improvements in behaving ethically and lawfully. Ethical decision making is encouraged and “leaders promote the force’s code of ethics”.

In his draft annual report, Police and Crime Commissioner for DyfedPowys, Dafydd Llywelyn, said: “I am pleased to report that during 2018/19 the chief constable and his team continued to make improvements in relation to HMICFRS gradings, most notably in relation to crime data integrity (how accurately the force records crimes).

“The force has made significant changes to improve how they record domestic related incidents, improvements which my office will monitor with interest over the coming year.”

Temporary deputy chief constable, Claire Parmenter, said: “Following the most recent inspection of Dyfed-Powys Police by the HMICFRS, the inspectorate recorded that the force was good at reducing crime and keeping people safe.

“It was disappointing therefore to see that this was reported slightly differently in the summary of the report.

“The inspection was undertaken in October 2018.

“Since then, and based on the feedback, we have invested a significant amount of time in addressing the issues identified as needing further attention.

“As a force we are committed to providing the best possible service to communities, we are reviewing our demand to ensure that we can align resources and meet the changing demand that we face across policing.

“The areas we police remain the safest in England and Wales, but geographically they are also the largest.

“We will continue to work hard to ensure we are there to meet our communities’ needs, as well as keeping ahead of the new and emerging crime types.”

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