The future of Policing in Wales

Policing in Wales is reserved to the UK Government, with the Home Office bearing responsibility for publishing the most pressing national crime threats and how police forces ought to respond to them (the Strategic Policing Requirement), presenting the Annual Police Grant Report to Parliament for approval, and holding Police and Crime Commissioners accountable. As elected … Show more

Policing in Wales is reserved to the UK Government, with the Home Office bearing responsibility for publishing the most pressing national crime threats and how police forces ought to respond to them (the Strategic Policing Requirement), presenting the Annual Police Grant Report to Parliament for approval, and holding Police and Crime Commissioners accountable. As elected representatives, Police and Crime Commissioners are responsible for police governance, police oversight, and the commissioning of criminal justice services for their force area. A UK Government White Paper published in January outlined plans to abolish PCCs, the elected officials responsible for overseeing the budget and overall strategy of individual police forces in England and Wales. In England, their responsibilities will be taken on by elected regional mayors or council leaders, however it is not yet clear who will take on these functions in Wales. It also set out plans to merge a number of England and Wales’ 43 territorial police forces, although there is no clarity yet on what this could mean for Wales. Show less