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February was another busy month, leading up to one of the highlights of the year for myself, which is my annual St David’s Day Conference, held during the first week of March. This year, the focus of the Conference was Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) which can have an overwhelming impact on its victims and, in some cases, the wider community. In my new Police and Crime Plan I have highlighted preventing harm caused by crime and ASB as one of my priorities.

You can read more about the Conference here. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank all of my guest speakers, as well as everyone who attended both in person at Police Headquarters and online from across England and Wales. It was a successful event, and I am already looking forward to next year.

As the pandemic restrictions ease, it is great to be out engaging in person with our communities once again. In the last couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to visit the Construction Site of our new Carmarthenshire Custody Suite and Policing Hub as well as the South of Powys for a Community Engagement Day, which you can read about below.

Thank you once again for taking time to read my bulletin. Please feel free to share wider, and if you have any questions, you are welcome to contact my Office here.

Diolch yn fawr,

Dafydd Llywelyn

Police and Crime Commissioner

Community Engagement Day in the South of Powys

On Monday 21 February, I visited Talgarth, Hay on Wye and Brecon as part of a Community Engagement Day in the South of Powys where I was able to discuss aspects of my new Police and Crime Plan for Dyfed-Powys with local community representatives.

During the day, I met with community representatives in Talgarth, Hay on Way and Brecon. Overall, it was as a very positive engagement day. The feedback I received was positive, and it was great to hear about the impact of our Neighbourhood Policing Team in these areas.

Celebrating the 15 year anniversary of Premier League Kicks programme

Last month I had the opportunity to be part of the 15-year anniversary celebration of the Premier league Kicks programme, with the Premier League showcasing the impact the initiative is having on local communities via a series of videos released during this week.

To celebrate the initiative, I was invited to take part in the promotional video with the league, where I presented participant Harri from Seaside, Llanelli with a Local Legends card from the Premier League.

The aim of the PL Kicks programme is to use football and sport in general to inspire children and young people, and bring communities together. Over the last two years, I have commissioned Swansea City AFC Foundation to run free sessions in two areas within the Force area, in Seaside Llanelli, and Pembroke Dock, with hundreds of children and young people turning out on a weekly basis.

Following their success in both areas, in September 2021, I extended the programme for another three years in Seaside Llanelli and Pembroke Dock under a new agreement, and also introduced to children and young people in three new areas, in Aberystwyth, Newtown, and Carmarthen.

It was great to be part of the celebrations, and I would like to congratulate the Premier League for the success of their Kicks initiative and the positive impact the programme is having on communities.

Site visit to new Carmarthenshire Custody Suite and Policing Hub

On Thursday, 24 February, I visited Dafen, Llanelli to view the site of the new Carmarthenshire Custody Suite and Policing Hub as construction work begins on the new build.

Planning permission was granted to us by Carmarthenshire County Council back in April 2021 for the proposed development, which is to be an ambitious sustainable construction, with a BREEAM excellence rating.

However, the planning permission included a number of conditions which had to be met before construction work could begin.

Wilmott Dixon, who are the Construction Contractor have been on site since autumn preparing for the first construction phases, with specific progress now beginning made on the development, that aims to be completed by May 2023.

This is a major investment for us which will see an ambitious, modern, sustainable fit for purpose policing hub and custody suite that will meet the needs and expectations of modern policing and I’m pleased to confirm that construction work has recently begun.

I’ve worked extremely hard with partners over recent years to ensure that we get to this position and it was great to be on site in Dafen to see the progress being made by the construction company.