Gwent Police Amongst Top Performing Forces

A report published today shows that Gwent Police is amongst the top performing Forces in England and Wales.

In the annual State of Policing report, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Sir Thomas Winsor, reports on his overall assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in England and Wales. This assessment covers the full breadth of inspections conducted by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) throughout the year, and provides an overview of the state of policing in England and Wales. The report shows that Gwent Police has been rated as ‘Good’ overall across the inspection themes of effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy.

In response to the report, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Gwent, Jeff Cuthbert, said: “I am responsible for making sure the service provided by the police is efficient and effective. The people of Gwent should be proud of the Force’s performance and for the good level of service it provides. I would like to praise the Chief Constable, Jeff Farrar, for his efforts in leading the turnaround in the Force’s performance in recent years. Gwent Police has moved from requiring improvement across the board three years ago to being amongst the top performing Forces in England and Wales.”

The Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Jeff Farrar, said: “I am pleased to see that HMIC has recognised the significant effort that police officers and staff have undertaken in the past year to build upon performance and deliver a quality service to the public; but policing is a complex business and is changing quickly in a world in which technology is ever advancing.  This means the threats facing Forces are developing rapidly across England and Wales and require close partnership working with other agencies to effectively tackle those challenges.  Here in Gwent there is a clear mandate to work effectively within Public Service Boards to improve service delivery across agencies.  Gwent Police is well-placed to meet both current and future demands on the service and this is supported through the assessment of HMIC in this report.”

In his report, Sir Thomas Winsor also impresses that Police Forces in England and Wales are having to ’pick up the slack’ as cuts in other public services increase pressures on them. According to Gwent PCC Jeff Cuthbert, this is why there is a strong focus on partnership working throughout his four year Police and Crime Plan for Gwent.

“It’s vital for the police to work closely with all key public services to get the very best benefit for communities and individuals,” said Mr Cuthbert. 

“This is why there is a clear focus on ensuring strong collaborative working with other key partners throughout my police and crime plan. This is something that should happen in the very best of times but is even more important during austerity.”  

The report also highlights that it’s essential for police forces to invest in the latest technology to meet the demands of the developing nature of crime. Gwent PCC Jeff Cuthbert said he will continue to support the Force in utilising and investing in the latest technology and will ensure that officers in Gwent are well trained and equipped to pursue and arrest those who prey on the vulnerable online and bring them to justice. 

Sir Thomas Winsor also warns against what he describes as the ‘insidious creep of expecting police forces to be able to deal with the increasing demand caused by a shortage in mental health provision’. This is also something that Gwent Police is well equipped to deal with according to Mr Cuthbert.

“We are planning to expand the successful Police Control Room Clinical Advisor (PCRCA) pilot project in partnership with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board which involves the deployment of a qualified mental health professional into Gwent Police’s Control Room,” he said.

“This is aimed at reducing demand on police officers where mental health is an underlying factor, managing risk and harm in relation to mental health crisis and to ensure that appropriate care and support is delivered in a timely way. We have also freed up some money to invest in areas such as the development of a multi-agency hub for the vulnerable.”

The full report can be found on the HMIC website