* North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin (left) and Chief Constable Carl Foulkes.
People
in North Wales are being urged to help draw up a new blueprint for the way the
region is policed and help decide where 20 extra PCSOs should work.
North
Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin and Chief Constable Carl
Foulkes are asking local communities, groups and representative bodies to
tell them what they think is most important and what they are most worried
about.
Mr Dunbobbin is preparing to write his first Police
and Crime Plan after being elected in May and is keen for as many people as
possible to have a voice in the process.
Along with the Chief Constable, he is asking
people to take part in a survey which will help shape North Wales Police’s
priorities.
The survey covers all aspects of policing, from
tackling serious and organised crime and protecting children and young people
from sexual exploitation and abuse, to dealing with social media trolling and
responding to non-emergency calls.
The survey is now available at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SMDKY8R
for people to complete until Friday, August 20.
Paper copies will be available for those who do not
wish to fill in the online version. There will also be an easy read version
available.
It’s in the form of multiple choice questions with
participants indicating on a scale of one to five how important they consider
each different aspect of policing to be.
The aim is to publish the plan in September.
Mr Dunbobbin said: "North Wales is one of
safest places to live, work and visit in the UK and I want to ensure we keep it
that way. As the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner, I have statutory
duty to consult local people on policing priorities.
“In consultation with the force, I’m drafting my
first Police and Crime Plan and in order to do that the force and I need to be
aware what local people believe the policing priorities should be.
"My aim is to ensure that the views, needs and
expectations of all parts of our communities are reflected in the plan.
“I am accountable to the people when it comes to crime
and anti-social behaviour so it is vitally important for me to find out what
people think about how the region should be policed.
“The updated Police and Crime Plan will set out in
plain English and Welsh the level of service people can expect to receive from
their local police force.
“Essentially, I will be consulting the public on
the policies contained in my manifesto when I was elected.
“The Welsh
Government is funding an increase in the number of PCSOs in Wales from 500 to
600. I have had conversations to make sure that North Wales gets its fair share
and as a result the force is to have an additional 20 of them.
“The survey
also provides people with the opportunity to give their view on where they
think the PCSOs should work.
"Importantly, the rights and interests of
victims will be at the heart of the Police and Crime Plan.
“The North Wales Victim Help Centre does excellent
work and it has specialist teams have been set up to provide support for
victims of cybercrime, child sexual exploitation, modern day slavery and fraud.
“I am keen to invest further in victim services and
I will be setting up a victims’ panel so that survivors also have a voice in
the way we operate and the support we provide so that we can do things better.
“The purpose of the Police and Crime Plan is to
ensure the force is paying specific attention to those points which have been
identified as crucial by the public, me and indeed by the force itself.
“An
important part of my role as Commissioner will be to monitor the force’s
compliance with the plan and I will be rigorous in holding them to account on
behalf of the people of North Wales.”
Chief Constable Foulkes said: “The
views of the people of North Wales are are really important to us and
through previous surveys have shaped the force we are today.
“We want to make sure we are addressing
the concerns of local communities to influence the content and priorities of
the Police and Crime Plan, and crucially how North Wales is policed. Our aim is
to ensure that all our diverse local communities have a say in shaping future
services and the allocation of resources.
“Completing the survey won’t take up too much time
but it will make a big difference in terms of our understanding of what is
important to the public, what they think we do well and where they think we
could improve. The Commissioner and I look forward to hearing from as
many people as possible.”
* Paper copies of the survey are available by
contacting opcc@nthwales.pnn.police.uk
or 01492 805486. An easy
read version of the survey is also available.