POLICE NUMBERS NOW AT RECORD LOW FOR DYFED POWYS

Police officers based across Dyfed Powys are now at their lowest levels in the last decade, with over 300 officers being lost across the region. 

According to a freedom of information request by Carmarthenshire Labour, police officers based across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion are down 42% and are at record lows in both Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

The figures published by Dyfed Powys Police show that Carmarthenshire have lost 160 officers in the last ten years, Pembrokeshire are down 107 officers and Ceredigion have lost 56 bobbies on the beat.

These figures come off the back of a poor report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary that shows the force has gone backwards in the last year, with crime also on the increase. HMIC’s recent PEEL (Police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy) report noted that she had concerns about Dyfed Powys Police’s performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime and warned that Dyfed Powys Police is failing to assess all incidents of domestic abuse.

Carmarthenshire Labour Leader claims that the figures show that the current Police and Crime Commissioner is now performing worse than the former Commissioner, Christopher Salmon.

Carmarthenshire Labour Leader stated “These figures that show a dramatic decrease in police numbers are extremely worrying and reinforce what communities are saying across Dyfed Powys – there are simply not enough police officers in our areas.

“The fact that we now have lower police numbers in the three counties compared to the end of the last Police and Crime Commissioner’s term with crime now on the rise illustrates that the Plaid Cymru Commissioner is failing in his duty to protect our communities.

“We need urgent action to make our communities safe once more, as there is a clear link between the loss of youth provision and cuts to officer numbers, and the rise of crime in our communities.

“There is little evidence that our Commissioner has grasped the nettle over the last three years in tackling this important issue.”

FOI Reference: 634/2019 – Please Quote in all Correspondence

Request:

1. The number of police officers based in Ceredigion between 2008 and 2019 (broken down for each calendar year).

2. The number of police officers based in Pembrokeshire between 2008 and 2019 (broken down for each calendar year).

3. The number of police officers based in Carmarthenshire at January 2019.

Clarification:

None Sought

Response

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1(1) (a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a request is held. The second duty at Section 1(1) (b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.

I can confirm that Dyfed-Powys Police does hold some of the information requested, the details of which are as follows:

It must be noted that due to the way that numbers are recorded, there may not be information for the month of January in every year.

It should be noted that as a result of the systems adopted by Dyfed-Powys Police in relation to the recording of such information that the information released may or may not be accurate.

This is a response under the Freedom of Information Act and disclosed on the 5th August 2019