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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the report be received.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
RESOLVED that the Performance Sub-Group’s report be noted.
RESOLVED that the Annual Report be received.
Apologies for absence were received Councillor Les George (Powys County Council) and Councillor Simon Wright (Pembrokeshire County Council).
Member Agenda Item No. Interest Mrs H. Thomas All Items. Family member is currently serving as a Police Officer with Dyfed-Powys Police. Cllr. W. Powell* Item 7. Professional association with the beneficiaries of the 'Donation to Hay, Brecon and Talgarth Sanctuary for Refugees (HBTS4R) 2026', as per the Commissioner's report. *Interest declared during consideration of agenda item 7.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel held on the 10th February 2026 be signed as a correct record.
No matters arising from the minutes of the meeting were raised.
Prior to considering the three questions on notice submitted, the Panel raised several thematic questions pertaining to areas including Policing Governance and the impact of the recent Welsh Government elections, to which the Commissioner responded in detail.
Following the recent discharge of a firearm by police in Dyfed Powys, what specific evidence or performance measures does the Commissioner use to assure himself that armed response units are adequately staffed, appropriately located, and sufficiently resourced to respond effectively to threats and protect the public? Response from the Police and Crime Commissioner • Operational resourcing decisions are the responsibility of the Chief Constable. • Assurance regarding this area of focus is obtained through the Force's internal governance arrangements, primarily the quarterly Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) Board. • The SPR Board is chaired by the Assistant Chief Constable and includes representation from the Commissioner's Office. • The Board monitors the Force's capability, capacity, resilience and risk in relation to national Strategic Policing Requirements set by the Home Office, which cover areas including cyber threats. Firearms and threats from terrorism activity are an integral element of the SPR. • The Board assures that the Force has appropriate systems, resources and operational functions in place to safeguard communities and maintain consistency with regional and national policing standards, including the SPRs. • The Joint Firearms Unit currently has vacancies and has incurred overtime expenditure above the budgeted level. This is an area of operational concern that has been discussed previously with the Chief Constable. • Performance measures relating to firearms incidents are reviewed regularly, including incidents where response times exceed the national 20-minute target. Achieving target response times can be particularly challenging in rural areas due to the Force's geographical spread and the impracticality of deploying firearms-trained officers to all locations. • Incidents exceeding response time targets are reviewed monthly under both the SPR guidelines and Local Command Structures to allow the Joint Firearms Unit and the Force to reflect and adapt, ensuring the service can respond effectively and efficiently to such incidents. • It must also be noted that firearms capability also includes the availability of locally trained Taser Officers and Dog Handlers, who may form part of an appropriate blended response to these types of incidents. In addition to the response provided above, the Commissioner, as Chair of the Platinum Board, which oversees the expected launch of the Joint Firearms Unit as a training facility by the end of the calendar year, extended an invitation to the Panel to visit the facility in due course.
In light of ongoing concerns across England and Wales around radicalisation, how is the Police and Crime Commissioner holding the Chief Constable and operational colleagues to account on training for and implementation of the Prevent strategy, to promote community cohesion and public safety in Dyfed-Powys? In particular, what efforts are currently being made via the Police Education Service in schools and colleges, to promote values of democracy and tolerance, whilst having due regard to freedom of expression? Response from the Police and Crime Commissioner • Assurance regarding Prevent duty activity has recently been sought from the Chief Constable through the Policing Board, where information was provided on the work undertaken internally and in partnership with external agencies, including trends in referrals involving children and young people. • Prevent training is delivered to all Student officers by the Counter-Terrorism Policing Wales Team as part of an all-Wales service. • Officers also receive mandatory training through the Learning and Development Department on issues relating to radicalisation, extremism and related safeguarding concerns. • The Dyfed-Powys Police Schools Programme delivers lessons and presentations within schools on topics including hate crime, hate incidents, radicalisation, extremism, terrorism and anti-racism. • These sessions focus on recognising warning signs, encouraging individuals to speak up safely, understanding legal protections and signposting sources of help and support. • Additional investment has been made to extend this preventative and educational work into colleges, recognising that engagement had previously been more established within schools, with dedicated Police Staff Officers being recruited to deliver preventative and informative sessions directly within colleges. • In addition to the existing 14 Police Schools Officers, there will now be one dedicated Police Staff role per County within the Force area to support this work. A further internally appointed role has been established to support trauma-informed training and related engagement activity. • These new roles will be supported by wider Neighbourhood Policing and Prevention Teams, which are receiving additional Police Constables through the UK Government's Neighbourhood Policing Pledge. • Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) will also continue to support engagement activity, with a focus on being visible and accessible to young people. • The overall aim of these arrangements is to improve early intervention, strengthen safeguarding, and ensure effective signposting and referrals into the Prevent process where appropriate.
Following the introduction of the default 20 MPH speed limit in communities across Wales in September 2023, the subsequent 'proportionate' enforcement strategy adopted by police forces across Wales and the extent of the public discourse on the wider issue over the last three years, there has been a climate of uncertainty amongst speed reduction campaigners, despite data indicating a reduction in RTAs across Wales involving fatalities and serious injuries. Against this background, and with a new Welsh Government taking shape, what will the Police and Crime Commissioner now do to urge the Chief Constable and Roads Policing colleagues to support the recruitment, retention and training of Speed-Watch Community Concern volunteers, to promote road safety and effective speed enforcement measures across Dyfed-Powys? Response from the Police and Crime Commissioner • Wish to express gratitude to the community volunteers for their longstanding contribution to road safety activities. • The area of focus has become increasingly challenging in recent years, particularly following changes in legislation, as well as ongoing discussions with the Welsh Government regarding the funding of the GoSafe partnership and its activities. • Concerns have been raised that GoSafe funding, amid inflation and other pressures, including the phased, incremental enforcement approach to the new 20 MPH limits, reducing enforcement income, have challenged the resilience of road safety activities across Wales. • The enforcement of 20 MPH speed limits is now fully operational across Wales, with enforcement notices being issued to individuals where appropriate. • Dyfed-Powys Police and Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service have jointly introduced 'Operation Ugain', aimed at educating drivers on the 20mph speed limit changes and improving compliance, which has links to other initiatives, including 'Your Future, Your Choice', which is being delivered jointly with partners in schools across the force area. • 'Olivia's Story' and similar educational initiatives are also used to highlight the consequences of taking risks while driving and the issues that can result from these behaviours. • The Welsh Government Road Safety Partnership has recently been established, with annual board meetings attended through representation. • Representatives from the Commissioner's Office continue to participate in all four Road Safety Partnerships across the Dyfed-Powys area. • Community Safety Partnerships have now incorporated problem-solving and problem-oriented policing plans relating specifically to road safety. • A Road Safety Roundtable will be hosted in June 2026 to bring together partners from across the Dyfed-Powys area to share learning, ideas and resources aimed at strengthening preventative road safety work, with a Road Safety Funding Round also being launched to support community groups and partners in delivering local road safety initiatives between May 2026 and May 2028. • The Roundtable is intended to support the launch of the Funding Round and to encourage preventive ideas from partners, including local authorities, the Fire Service, and community organisations. • Road safety remains a significant concern regularly raised by members of the public and community representatives. • Engagement will continue with PCC colleagues, Chief Constables and the relevant Welsh Government Minister to address longstanding concerns regarding GoSafe funding and wider road safety issues.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
[NOTE: Mrs H. Thomas having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted]. Following the Panel's request to the Commissioner for reports outlining the progress made in delivering the priorities set out in the Police and Crime Plan, members received a progress report related to Priority 3 for review. As part of the focus on 'Supporting a More Effective Justice System', the Commissioner noted that, through the significant investments made in this area, positive outcomes have been reported. Examples of these include achieving higher quartile outcome performance for sexual violence offences, and consistent upper quartile outcome performance for incident date through increased responsiveness to 101 and 999 calls. The Commissioner also advised the Panel that the Strategic Performance Board remains a practical forum for seeking assurance on behalf of communities regarding changes in Force performance, supporting the continued delivery of Police and Crime Plan priorities by identifying the causes of such variances and how they can be effectively addressed. The following questions or concerns were raised by the Panel: • In response to a question on crime recording accuracy, the Commissioner noted they have received greater assurance about improvements in crime data integrity and data sampling compared to previous years. A wide-scoping review is currently underway within the Force to ensure more consistent performance in this area, with the Chief Constable also considering different positions to enable future improvements, such as recording at the first point of contact and using technologies, including process automation. • In response to a request for further details on issues with rural response performance and the remaining 20% of calls where response targets are not achieved, the Commissioner noted that this is a consistent theme of discussion with the Chief Constable and that information is available for review on the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) website, which details reasons for these issues. The Commissioner further advised that the Force is currently undergoing an evaluation of its Resource Model, which is expected to yield improvements in response times moving forward. • The Commissioner advised that additional details and data in relation to the 'Voice of the Child' and the 'Reachable Moments Pilot' could be provided to the Panel, following a question raised in relation to the 'Children' sub-section of the report. • The Commissioner agreed on the importance of the public in all aspects of the Police's work and on the need to encourage them to share information on serious and organised crime. There are provisions in place that ensure sensitivity in how data has been shared and safeguard individuals who provide information. • In response to a question about the newly developed Rural Crime Strategy, the Commissioner acknowledged concerns about public confidence in the management of rural crime and advised that the new strategy, developed in partnership with Farming Unions, directly addresses them. It places strong emphasis on supporting rural communities and on helping minimise the risk of crime, with a future update to be provided to the Panel on the strategy's achievements. RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
[NOTE: • Mrs H. Thomas having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted. • During the report's presentation, Cllr. W. Powell declared an interest in this item, remained in the meeting during its consideration, and voted.]. The Panel considered a report on decisions the Commissioner made between the 17th of January and the 30th of January 2026. Section 28 (6) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 requires all decisions and actions undertaken by the Commissioner to be reviewed in alignment with the discharge of his functions, with reports and recommendations related to those decisions and actions to be made as considered appropriate by the Panel to the Commissioner. The following questions or concerns were raised by the Panel: • As a means of clarifying their role in authorising expenditure on areas such as the 'Strategic Command Centre (SCC) LED Lighting', the Commissioner advised that, as part of working to a Corporate Governance framework, certain expenditure levels are delegated to individuals. For any expenditure over the £250,000 threshold, these are received by the Commissioner for executive consideration, between themselves and the Chief Financial Officer, for final authorisation. • In response to a request for further detail on the 'Fuming Cabinet' decision, the Commissioner reiterated that it is a device used to support the fingerprint enhancement process and agreed to seek additional information on its functionality for circulation to the Panel. RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
[NOTE: Mrs H. Thomas having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted]. The Panel received a performance report for review in relation to the Policing Protocol Order for Quarter 4 of the 2025/2026 financial year. For the period in question, a total of three actions had changed performance, namely from Green to Amber. No further changes in the performance of actions were reported for the quarter. For the three actions that moved from Green to Amber, it was noted that measures were being taken to address the variances. RESOLVED that the report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
[NOTE: Mrs H. Thomas having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted]. The Panel received the progress report of the OPCC's Business Plan for Quarter 4 of the 2025/2026 financial year. The report outlined the progress made in delivering the business plan's requirements in alignment with the priorities of the Commissioner's Police and Crime Plan. In presenting the report, it was noted that several actions demonstrated performance improvements, with seven actions moving from Amber to Green, including the Children and Young People Select Committee. Two actions had been changed from Blue to Amber to indicate progress in delivering the Commissioner's priorities, such as the Road Safety Select Committee. A further two actions were downgraded from Amber to Blue for the period under consideration. The following questions or concerns were raised by the Panel: • In response to a question on how new risks to the Business Plan are considered, it was noted that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) maintain a risk register that is reviewed monthly, with quarterly updates provided to the Joint Audit Committee to monitor progress, update risks and ensure appropriate actions are taken to support delivery of priorities. • In relation to the new Children and Young People Select Committee, the Commissioner advised that Education Authorities are not specifically included in the new arrangements, although Youth Services organisations form an integral part of the work in this area. RESOLVED that the report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
[NOTE: Mrs H. Thomas having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted]. The Panel received a detailed report outlining proposed changes to the OPCC Business Plan for the forthcoming period. The report documents the specific changes to the Business Plan and the OPCC's approach to its implementation. Amid the uncertainty surrounding the UK Government's proposed changes to Police Governance, and following ongoing reviews of the Plan within the OPCC, it was highlighted that the proposed revisions are intended to account for the potential implications of these changes. The revisions aim to ensure continued progress in delivering the Commissioner's priorities, while also optimising capacity and resources to manage the proposed changes effectively. RESOLVED that the report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Performance Sub-Group’s report be noted.
[NOTE: Mrs H. Thomas having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted]. In line with its priorities for the 2025/2026 period, the Panel received a report for consideration by the Performance Sub-Group that scrutinises and reviews the governance arrangements in place by the Commissioner to ensure the accountability of the Chief Constable. As part of its consideration, it was noted that after an extensive review of information regarding the operation of the arrangements and Panel Members' observation of those in practice, the Sub-Group were assured that the arrangements are relevant and effective. In recognition of the Panel's findings, the Commissioner formally accepted the Sub-Group's recommendations – particularly in terms of how attendance by Panel members at meetings such as the Strategic Board provides a vital insight into the governance dynamic between themselves and the Chief Constable, and that this should be maintained. RESOLVED that the Performance Sub-Group’s report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the Annual Report be received.
[NOTE: Mrs H. Thomas having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted]. The Panel considered the Annual Report for the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel published in accordance with grant conditions applied to its funding received from the Home Office. The report outlines the Panel’s activities during 2025/2026 and its priorities for 2026/2027. RESOLVED that the Annual Report be received.
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