SIX PLEDGES FOR POLICING

Plaid Cymru’s manifesto for the Police and Crime Commissioner election on May 6th contains Six Pledges for Policing – commitments party Leader, Adam Price says can create a fairer, safer Wales.

The Plaid Cymru Leader has stated that seeking control over policing and justice would be a “top priority” for a Plaid Cymru government, adding that Welsh Police Forces would benefit from an additional £25million a year – the equivalent to 900 additional police officers - were policing devolved to Wales.

Adam Price said that having had two elected Police Commissioners over the past five years, Plaid Cymru’s candidates were experienced, had a proud record of achievement, and know what needs to be done to make our communities safe.

The six key pledges include:

1. A Fair Funding Formula for Policing in Wales until full devolution
2. Better integration and transparency between the police and the community
3. A plan to reduce crime and reoffending
4. Enhancing Victim Support
5. Tackling Hate Crime
6. Creating Economic Crime Units

Setting out the six pledges, current Plaid Cymru Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn said that the party would “continue to take a preventative approach to tackling crime” and wanted to “place the victim at the heart of the justice system”.

Alongside Dafydd Llywelyn contesting the election in Dyfed Powys, Plaid Cymru’s Police and Crime Commissioner candidates are Ann Griffith (North Wales), Nadine Marshall (South Wales) and Donna Cushing (Gwent).

Plaid Cymru Leader, Adam Price, said:

“Despite initially opposing the introduction of Police Commissioners, when we saw the devastating impact of Tory cuts to policing, we contested the 2016 elections which saw Plaid Cymru Arfon Jones and Dafydd Llywelyn elected to serve North Wales and Dyfed Powys respectively.

“Our candidates are experienced, have a proud record of achievement and know what needs to be done.  They hold the respect of the police front line and truly represent the communities they serve.

“Those communities could be better served with the full devolution of policing which would see Welsh police forces receive an additional £25million a year - that’s the equivalent of 900 extra police officers on the beat.  The devolution of policing is a top priority for a Plaid Cymru government.

“Our six pledges for policing and our vision for a fairer, safer Wales builds on the work of our excellent current Commissioners whose achievements in investing more in CCTV systems, committing resources to tackling modern slavery and introducing pilots to prevent rural crime show that Plaid is truly committed to protecting our communities.”

Plaid Cymru’s current Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed Powys who will be seeking re-election on May 6th, Dafydd Llywelyn added:

“Plaid Cymru continues to take a preventative approach to tackling crime, collaborating across health, criminal justice and education as the most effective way of tackling youth offending.

“Addressing the underlying causes of crime, such as protecting children from abuse or neglect, and tackling child poverty is proven to reduce criminal behaviour.

“We also want to put the victim at the heart of justice system. Plaid Cymru pledges to implement the Victims Code of Practice, including supporting greater victim confidence in giving evidence, thereby increasing conviction rates.

“Finally, Plaid is committed to tackling a range of offences which currently suffer from a lack of funding and focus such as rural crime, cybercrime and hate crimes.”

Former Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner and Candidate for North Wales, Ann Griffith said:

“Thanks to the Home Office funding formula, North Wales taxpayers fund over 50 per cent of the police budget to make up for the lack of support offered by Westminster, a hefty sum compared to the 30 per cent contributed from local taxpayers in the West Midlands and Northumbria.

“Despite budget cuts by Teresa May and Priti Patel, I worked with Plaid Cymru’s Police Commissioner in North Wales to launch the ‘Checkpoint Cymru’ project and early intervention fund to divert low level offenders away from the criminal justice system and address adverse childhood experiences as an underlying cause of crime; increased the police workforce by nearly 7 per cent, and distributed the proceeds of crime back to local causes.

“Plaid Cymru’s six pledges for policing are the route to achieving a fairer, safer Wales.”

A VICTORY FOR COMMON SENSE

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price MS has called the Welsh Government’s U-turn on lockdown a “victory for common sense”.

Following pressure from police chiefs and Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Government has tonight confirmed it will be raising the maximum fines for those breaking lockdown from £120 to £1920.

However minimum fines will remain at £60.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price said the victory belonged to the “perseverance” of Welsh police forces who were doing “heroic work” in protecting communities during the crisis.  

However, the Plaid Leader said it was “bitterly regrettable” that the First Minister had not raised the minimum fines to match England as had been requested by police chiefs in their letter to the First Minister last Friday.

Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price MS said,

“After weeks of pressure from Wales’ police chiefs and Plaid Cymru, the Labour Welsh Government have finally seen sense and raised the maximum fines for those breaking lockdown rules in Wales from £120 to £1,920.

“This latest U-turn from the government is a victory for common sense and to the perseverance of our police forces who are doing heroic work in protecting our communities during this crisis.  

“However, the decision not to raise the minimum fines in parity with England as requested by the All Wales Policing Group remains bitterly regrettable.

ENDS

TIME TO DEVOLVE POLICE AND JUSTICE

It’s time to devolve control of Police and Justice to Wales as the powers are unsafe in the hands of any Westminster government and our communities will be put further at risk.  Back in 2017 Plaid Cymru called a vote on devolving policing during the passing of the Wales Bill through the Houses of Parliament. People should remember that given the choice of devolving Policing to Wales, the Conservatives voted it down and the Labour Party abstained - so much for standing up for our communities interests in Westminster.

It has to be unacceptable that Wales is the only nation in these islands without powers over its policing and justice policies – Northern Ireland, Scotland and even England do – but Wales doesn’t have control over Policing and Justice. Plaid Cymru is committed to the devolution of policing and justice to Wales to empower us to implement and pursue policies that serve the interests of our citizens and communities.

While Teresa May was perhaps too busy creating her hostile environment, Police numbers in Wales and England have been cut by some 19,704 police officers n since the Tories (and their eager Liberal Democrat’s coat holders) took office in 2010. Police budgets have been slashed, putting far fewer officers on the street. Welsh forces have been hit harder than those in the rest of the UK, due to an unfair funding formula. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of police officers in Wales decreased by 9%.

Plaid Cymru will recruit an extra 1,600 police officers – two for each community – to keep us safe. This would mean that our officers will be better rooted in our communities, instead of being stretched to cover large geographical areas with fewer resources. This would give the police the ability to focus on the priorities they need to keep us safe.

As argued by the Thomas Commission on Justice in Wales, we need to create integrated people-centred services – from prisons to counselling to housing – to undo the damage done by Cameron and May and to replace the present callous approach that prioritises targets over people’s needs. The extra police officers will help facilitate community engagement in which the police and the community can relay issues of mutual concern with targeted, community based problem-solving approaches to improve crime reduction and rehabilitation.

A QUESTION OF NUMBERS...

One of Boris’s promises to the electorate (repeated in a recent letter to Newport West residents) is that a Conservative government would increase the number of police officers in Wales and England by 20,000. 

While many of our hard pressed communities would happily welcome any increase the number of Police officers, in the face of rising crime following period when there has been a persistent thinning of police numbers.

It is perhaps worth remembering that we are some 19,704 police officers in Wales and England down since the Tories (and their eager Liberal Democrat’s coat holders) took office in 2010. 

Perhaps Teresa May, the former Prime Minster and former Home Secretary, was too busy creating hostile climate, to actually oversea the ill thought out reduction in Police numbers. 

It’s also worth noting that these figures apply to Wales and England only, as the Scottish police force has been exempt from Tory cuts due to the fact that control of policing is devolved to Scotland, unlike in Cymru / Wales.

Devolving policing powers would increase the accountability of the Welsh Government; strengthen the democratic process by allowing decisions, which directly impact on the Welsh people to be made, reviewed, revised and changed here in Wales. 

At the end of the day, the Welsh people have a simple democratic right to have a greater say in something so fundamental to civilised community life as policing. This is already the case in Scotland, Northern Ireland, London and Manchester. 

Policing is only one side of the coin, to make devolved policing work, there is also a need to devolve control of criminal justice. I have been long convinced that now is the time is right to devolve policing powers to the Welsh Government in Cardiff. 

Fundamentally policing decisions in Wales need to reflect the needs and concerns of our communities, not simply the on-going cost cutting agenda driven by previous Conservative Prime Minister’s (and a former Home Secretary) and the Ministry of Criminal Justice in London. 

Plaid Cymru has long campaigned rightly to “stop the thin blue line from breaking” and to boost funding for the Welsh police forces. 

The full devolution of policing would have meant the Welsh police forces would have been exempt from the Tories’ planned £32 million cut to their budgets and would have benefitted from an additional £25 million through being funded through the Barnett formula meaning a total difference in Welsh police budgets of £57 million between Plaid Cymru and Conservative policy. 

Back in 2017 Plaid Cymru called a vote on devolving policing during the passing of the Wales Bill through the Houses of Parliament. 

We should remember that given the choice of devolving Policing to Wales, the Conservatives voted it down and the Labour Party abstained - so much for standing up for Wales.