Performance and priorities
Our performance
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) independently assesses police forces and policing across activity from neighbourhood teams to serious crime and the fight against terrorism – in the public interest.
HMIC has statutory powers to inspect and report on the efficiency and effectiveness of South Wales Police, as set out in Section 54 (2) of the Police Act 1996. Each year, they consult on, and then publish, an inspection programme, including a schedule of inspection. The schedule includes the inspections which form regular annual assessment of police force performance, called the PEEL assessments.
PEEL stands for police effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy. It is the programme in which HMIC draws together the evidence from its annual all-force inspections. The evidence is used to assess the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of the police. HMIC has introduced these assessments so that you are able to judge the performance of your force and policing as a whole.
Find out information about the latest South Wales Police HMIC inspection reports and South Wales Police Crime Statistics.
Our priorities
The Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan and Police and Crime Commissioner Emma Wools are responsible for setting the policing priorities for South Wales Police.
Their shared principles and values set the standard – to be the best at understanding and responding to the needs of all our communities.
That means listening to them, protecting the vulnerable and improving victim satisfaction. The challenges ahead make us even more determined to stay focused on this vision, with a new emphasis on early intervention and prompt, positive action.
Our aim is to work with partners to ensure that people get the support they need, when they need it, and to prevent people from becoming either victims of crime or offenders. Early intervention is at the heart of building healthy, happy and safe communities, reducing demand on all our public services.
Our achievements to date have created a strong foundation on which to build but we acknowledge that we must always strive to improve our service and respond effectively to new demands.
The South Wales Police & Crime Plan 2023-2027 is the basis for our response and will ensure that we continue to deliver excellence to the communities of South Wales.
Priority 1
We will reduce and prevent crime and anti-social behaviour to keep people safe and confident in their homes and communities.
We will be tough on crime and the causes of crime, tackling root causes through early intervention and prompt, partnership and evaluation of 'what works'.
Priority 2
We will involve and empower our communities, working with partners in local government, health, fire and Welsh Government to deliver services that people need.
We are proud of living in a diverse community, it makes us what we are; we will continue to improve access to South Wales Police, so people get the services the need, when they need them. This includes continuous improvement in the performance of the Public Service Centre and understanding the demands on our 101 non-emergency number to ensure the public receive a prompt, positive response and are confident to report.
Priority 3
We will work to protect the most vulnerable in our communities, understanding causes and taking prompt positive action as issues arise.
We will develop our understanding of the issues faced by our communities to provide the support they need, using the principles of early intervention and co-operation with partners to identify and help those who need it most.
Priority 4
We will work to make the local Criminal Justice System efficient and effective to meet the needs of victims and reduce re-offending.
The Criminal Justice System needs to have a clear emphasis on reducing crime with a focus on preventing offending and re-offending while reducing harm and risk to the public.
Priority 5
We will make our wider contribution to policing through the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR), including successfully policing major events.
The Strategic Policing Requirement identifies key national threats and the resources required to address them. South Wales Police is a key strategic force and will continue to make a significant contribution to national incidents (for example the 2011 London riots) and key international events.
Priority 6
We will spend your money wisely and support our people to provide the best possible policing in your community.
We have experienced severe cuts in the Police Grant from Central Government. That makes difficult decisions inevitable, but even in these tough times we are keeping our commitment to protect Neighbourhood Policing in South Wales and work effectively with partners to make our communities safe. This is evidenced by analysis highlighting that we have delivered almost £0.5 billion of social and economic benefit across our communities since 2011. Resources will be locally based and strategically placed with effective and efficient services that are focused on need.
The plan sets out not only the priorities to be taken forward by the Police and Crime Commissioner but also operational activity to be taken in response to such priorities that fall under the direction and control of the Chief Constable.
