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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 noted.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
RESOLVED that the annual report be received.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Ken Howell (Carmarthenshire County Council), Councillor Wyn Thomas (Ceredigion County Council), Councillor Les George (Powys County Council), Councillor Liz Rijnenberg (Powys County Council) and Councillor Simon Hancock (Pembrokeshire County Council).
Member Agenda Item No Interest Cllr S. Wright All items Family member is a serving Police Officer within Dyfed Powys Police Force. Member is also a retired police officer and a current member of the National Association of Retired Police Officers.
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel held on the 14th February 2025 be signed as a correct record.
No matters arising from the minutes of the meeting were raised.
On page 9 of the Police and Crime Plan, under the heading of ‘Sustainability’ you set out your commitments to – • Reduce carbon footprint • Support ecological resilience • Support decarbonisation projects and • Encourage partnership working to respond to the climate emergency. How do you propose to fulfil these commitments? Does this include sourcing electricity and gas outside the national framework? What, in relation to these commitments, would success look like? • In relation to partnership working, the force is a member of the All Wales Sustainability and Decarbonisation Committee and recently undertook a TIA Sustainability Audit. • As a non-devolved body, when initiatives are launched by Welsh Government, the benefits of those are unclear and requires the force to make a case to be considered part of those activities. • The force works with other emergency services to tackle climate change through the National Police Estates Group and its Environment and Sustainability Group. The force also employs a dedicated Sustainability and Decarbonisation Officer and interacts with County Councils through the various networks under the Public Services Board. • A recent example of working on solutions with emergency services, including the Ambulance Trust and the Fire Service, and unitary authorities relates to the electric vehicle charging infrastructure that is needed across Mid and West Wales, which is being endeavoured towards. The aim of partnership working is to reduce individual cost implications. • In terms of the specifics of reducing carbon footprint, have endeavoured over recent years to get a baseline for that position and seen small changes to working practices, such as working remotely and working from home using digital technology. • The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has significantly reduced its floor space at Police Headquarters to reduce its footprint and enable an increase in the footprint of other partner agencies. The Welsh Ambulance Trust now works at Police Headquarters and occupies a full floor at one building at headquarters, which has served a purpose in carbon reduction due to needing to drive less frequently to and from work and meetings. • To work on the baseline, building energy efficiency improvements have been completed to reduce the carbon footprint throughout the force’s buildings. An example would be putting solar panels up on stations and have seen the investments in question at Cardigan Police Station, for example, and trying to identify the quantum value of that saving from a cost avoidance more than cost reduction point of view due to energy price increases over the last 5 to 10 years. • Looking to develop a wider solar farm at Police Headquarters. There are planning implications to this and infrastructure issues relating to linking to the National Grid, which all need to be taken into consideration. • Although uncertain of the specific up-to-date figure, it was noted that the energy bill for Police Headquarters was in the region of £500,000 every year. Cost at this level is due to the 24-hour nature of the service provided at Police Headquarters, but also the energy used by resources including IT Infrastructure, namely servers and the air conditioning that ensures that servers are held at certain temperatures. • In terms of ecological resilience, projects have been developed, such as the HQ Solar Farm, but also when projects are created, an ecology assessment is undertaken at that time. Wildlife boxes at various locations across the estate have also been installed. • In addition to the electric vehicles and HQ Solar Farm decarbonisation projects, LED lighting has also been introduced, which has had a significant impact on reducing carbon footprint. • In terms of what success would look like, it would be to ultimately protect communities and the commitment to net zero to ensure reduction in carbon footprint and protect ecology as well. For example, when building the new custody provision in Carmarthenshire at Dafen, a proportion of the site needed the ability for the ecology disrupted by the new build to be relocated. Ultimately, the aim is that everything done has a minimal impact on the environment.
Priority 2 (Supporting Safe Communities by Preventing Harm) in your current Police and Crime Plan places emphasis on ensuring that “Policing services are visible and accessible, meeting the needs of the urban and rural communities they serve.” To facilitate this, is there a case to be made for the powers currently held by PCSOs in Dyfed-Powys to be increased to the maximum allowed under section 38 of the Police Reform Act 2002, thereby enabling them to provide greater support to the over stretched Warranted officers they work alongside. • The question is a recurring one often raised to the Chief Constable on whether the force would benefit from the extension of powers for Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) or whether to reduce PCSO numbers and change them in effect to full warranted Police Constables. • There is complexity in relation to how PCSOs are funded in Wales, as the force gets a specific additional grant from Welsh Government. Welsh Government do not stipulate any requirements for those roles, but if seeking to reduce the numbers of PCSOs and increase Police Constables, it would, in effect, reduce the grant available to the force from Welsh Government. • PCSOs have a specific role to undertake that is different to warranted officers, and want to ensure, as set out in the Police and Crime Plan, that it is retained as a cornerstone for policing in Dyfed Powys through strong Neighbourhood Policing and Prevention teams that have a blend of warranted Police Officers, led by Sergeants and supported also by a Police Constable alongside the Neighbourhood Policing Team and PCSOs. These resources are now in place across the whole of the force. • Things have changed slightly over recent months through the Neighbourhood Pledge brought in by the current UK Government. It is expected that the force’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee response will see additional warranted Police Officers/Police Constables coming back into both response roles and the Neighbourhood Policing Team. • In a note provided by the Strategic Lead for Prevention, a significant uplift in warranted Police Officers working in Neighbourhood Policing Teams is expected over the next 12 months as a result of the Government funding guarantee, which negates the need to increase PCSO powers. • Expanding PCSO powers or using a similar model to where PCSOs work in an investigative role, as used in North Wales, would reduce their public visibility as they would be working on investigative opportunities in office spaces. • Upcoming investments by the force over the next twelve-month period in increasing Police staff roles likely to see officers being moved away from ‘administrative functions’ as a description to go back into the visible front-line response and the Neighbourhood Policing and Prevention Teams. • Providing additional powers to PSCOs would diminish their ability to undertake the crime prevention and visible presence role they need to undertake. Per the recent review of the Neighbourhood Policing and Prevention Teams across the force, increased emphasis is now placed on crime prevention and trying to work in a problem-solving approach. A series of follow-up questions related to the Commissioner’s response to item 5.2 was raised by the Panel, which the Commissioner responded to accordingly.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be received.
[NOTE: Councillor S. Wright having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted]. The Panel considered a report on decisions the Commissioner made between the 1st of February and the 31st of March 2025. 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: • Reference was made to the decision made regarding the uplift for substance misuse funding Dyfed. The Commissioner, in response to the queries raised, stated that the Dyfed Drug and Alcohol Service (DDAS) funding had been increased by 15% with a view to provide a more proactive service as well as enabling closer cooperation with Neighbourhood Policing and Prevention Teams. It was reported that the success of the service was reported through Area Planning Boards and measured on a case load basis. Some actions undertaken by the service had proven successful, as supported by measures including drug-related deaths in the Dyfed Powys area being lower than comparative areas. The Commissioner, not having the detailed information to hand offered to circulate a summary of performance data to Members following the meeting. • In relation to a statement raised regarding ‘Prevention and Engagement Services for Children’, the Commissioner agreed to provide an update on the future progress and the success of the pilot schemes rolled out in May 2025 for the service. • Due to not having access to the information during the meeting, the Commissioner advised that a written response was to be provided to the Panel following the meeting regarding a question on the single tender award for ‘Storage and Archiving Images (Forensics) - CSI Hubs and SSQ HQ’. • In relation to how the Joint Corporate Governance Framework is managed, the Commissioner noted that the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Monitoring Officer was responsible for the Framework’s management, which forms the rules of engagement between the Commissioner, the Commissioner’s office and Dyfed Powys Police and was reviewed annually to ensure fitness for purpose. RESOLVED that the report be received.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
[NOTE: Councillor S. Wright having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted]. The Panel reviewed a performance report in relation to the Policing Protocol Order for Quarter 4 of the 2024-25 financial year. It was reported that over the last quarter, the performance of many actions, including the funding of the capital programme, the medium-term financial plan and the police precept, had moved from Amber to Green. The following questions or concerns were raised: • A question was raised about the details of the Joint Strategic Equality Plan. It was advised that a copy of the plan could be provided to Panel members, which is supported by a detailed action plan that set outs to ensure progress against the plan’s multiple priorities. Specific reference was made to the plan’s focus on embedding the Single Equality Duty into the activities and responsibilities of all individuals working on the plan. • In response to a question on queries of correspondence regarding vetting, the Commissioner highlighted that vetting processes had become more complex due to increased social media elements and home visits and that more roles required vetting through the DBS system. As in receipt of representations on discontent with the system's timeliness, the Commissioner assured the Panel that improvement activities were being undertaken to help improve the process. RESOLVED that the report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
[NOTE: Councillor S. Wright 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 Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (OPCC) Business Plan for Quarter 4 of the 2024-25 financial year. The report outlined the progress made in delivering the requirements of the business plan in alignment with the priorities in the Police and Crime Plan. The report detailed that the actions varied in performance, as some had been completed and others still in progress. The Commissioner alluded to the uncompleted ‘Domestic Homicide Review’ action, as the force was no longer part of the pilot scheme. It was noted that several developments had been made during Q4 through governance changes, including changes related to commissioning services to reflect a more focused approach to the Strategic Performance Board. The following questions or concerns were raised by the Panel: • A question was raised about what is being done to support local retailers regarding shoplifting. The Commissioner noted they had met with a retail consortium and their various groups and engaged with retailers in town centres to understand their concerns. Reference was also made to the use of a portfolio approach and the police force’s CCTV infrastructure of approximately 160 cameras across 26 towns to help monitor such issues. • The Commissioner expressed agreement with a point raised about the role of PCSOs in helping reduce crime in town centres, as the Police force was susceptible to these types of incidents despite only marginally accounting towards overall crime numbers. RESOLVED that the report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the report be noted.
[NOTE: Councillor S. Wright 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 to reflect the Commissioner's new Police and Crime Plan. The report documents the specific changes to the Business Plan and the OPCC's approach to its implementation. The report outlined that the OPCC would move towards a longer-term plan in alignment with the Commissioner's Police and Crime Plan. It was highlighted that longer-term planning through a multi-year focus approach would help the Commissioner to adapt their responsiveness to current and future aspirations. A question was raised on the possibility of integrating the plan's proposed longer-term planning approach into operational elements of the Police force and regarding the turnover of senior and middle-manager police officers. The Commissioner noted the intention to involve others within the plan and its delivery and acknowledged that the turnover and length of service for officers was a prevalent issue within the force and policing in general. RESOLVED that the report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the annual report be received.
[NOTE: Councillor S. Wright having earlier declared an interest in this matter, remained in the meeting during its consideration and voted]. The Panel considered the 2024-2025 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 2024-2025 and its priorities for 2025-2026. The Chair, on behalf of the Panel, thanked Mr Robert Edgecombe for preparing the report and for his support throughout the year. RESOLVED that the annual report be received.
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