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PCC Christmas Message

As we approach the Festive period, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas, and wish you well for 2023.

2022 has been another challenging year for many of us, and I am painfully aware of the pressure that the cost-of-living crisis is putting on people across our Force area. Sadly, these challenges and rising costs are hitting emergency services too, and despite careful financial planning by the force, we will have to make increasingly difficult decisions over the next few years, but my priority is to ensure we can continue to run an efficient and effective Police force to continue to keep our communities safe.

On a happier note, one of the main highlights for me this year was being out in our communities engaging with local people. It was fantastic to see the return of the Royal Welsh show and the Winter Fair in Builth Wells this year following the coronavirus pandemic, and to also welcome the National Eisteddfod to Tregaron in Ceredigion in August. These are large events, that attract thousands of people from across Wales and beyond, and I’ve been so lucky to meet so many people doing great things around Dyfed-Powys to help and support others throughout the year. I am blessed in my job to feel the strength of the community spirit which makes and maintains Dyfed-Powys as the safe place that we have all come to appreciate and expect.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our Police Officers, Staff and all our volunteers, for all their hard work over the last year to keep us safe and especially those that are working over the busy Christmas period.

The Festive season is a time to reflect, to give thanks and send good will messages to others, and I would ask you kindly to spare a thought to all those who have played such a vital role in serving our communities over the past 12 months. Their efforts enable us to enjoy time with our families and friends knowing they are there to keep us safe.

Finally, I would like to wish you all a safe and peaceful Christmas. I am looking forward to getting out and about again next year, and hope to meet as many people as possible, it is only by listening and engaging with you that I can do my job effectively. I look forward to continuing working with the Force, partner agencies and the public to keep Dyfed-Powys among the safest places to live work and visit.

Other News

Pilot Scheme with Dyfed-Powys Police results in significantly improved practice in the use of anti-harm suits being issued to detainees in Custody

An interim report published in December by the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) has confirmed that a pilot scheme run by Dyfed-Powys Police has resulted in considerable improvements in the recording and justification of the use of anti-harm suits in custody.

Anti-rip clothing or anti harm suits are clothing that are used in many custody suites across the UK. The material of the clothing is made to prevent detainees being able to rip the material and make ligatures.

In March this year, I announced that my Independent Custody Visiting Scheme was to lead on an Anti-Harm Suit pilot scheme in partnership with Dyfed-Powys Police and ICVA that would look to;

1. Closely monitor the use of anti-rip suits in Dyfed Powys custody suites on a force wide basis;

2. Remove the use of anti-rip clothing by force, in the absence of risk information;

3. Increase the quality of justification and consideration of proportionality where the clothing is used.

ICVA this month have published an interim evaluation of the pilot which has acknowledged a significant improvement in the monitoring of the use of anti-rip clothing in Dyfed Powys. It also confirms that the quality of the recording and justification of the use of the clothing has considerably improved, which has resulted in better outcomes for detainees in custody.