Welsh Police Leaders Meet in Gwent
The four Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) for Wales and the Chief Constables from all four Welsh Police Forces met at Gwent Police's Headquarters in Cwmbran for the quarterly All Wales Policing Group meeting. The group meet around the country and this month's meeting was hosted by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent, Jeff Cuthbert. It was the first time for Mr Cuthbert to host the meeting in his new role as PCC and it was the first time for the group to meet following the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in May.
The All Wales Policing Group is hosted to enable the Welsh PCCs and Chief Constables to discuss strategic issues and identify how they can best work together to prevent crime and protect victims of crime from serious harm.
Today's meeting included a presentation by Carl Sargeant, the Welsh Government's Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Children, around the importance of the Police collaborating effectively with the Welsh Government. There was also a report from the Chief Constable of Gwent Police, Jeff Farrar, on the Welsh Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit (WECTU) and the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). The group also considered future areas of policy and policing they wish to influence and shared feedback on some of the national meetings they had attended.
Speaking after the meeting, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent, Jeff Cuthbert, said: "I was delighted to welcome all the Welsh PCCs and Chief Constables to this meeting in Gwent and I was pleased to welcome Carl Sargeant who spoke about the importance of collaboration between the Police and the Welsh Government. This was an invaluable opportunity for us to get together to share ideas; discuss policies and deliberate how we can enhance existing collaboration between Forces in Wales to increase efficiency in the service provided by the Police.
Only through strong collaborative working and by sharing our resources and expertise can we seek to enhance the resilience of the Police in preventing crime and provide the best possible quality of life for our citizens - in particular our most vulnerable citizens. Naturally, if through good joined-up working with key partners we can reduce levels of crime, then it means that we have fewer victims."