Gwent’s Police and Crime Commissioner has said the question of a single Welsh police force is “some way down the line” after his chief constable gave her backing to the idea.
Ian Johnston told Caerphilly Observer the issue of devolving policing to Wales needs to be addressed before any discussion of a possible merger of Wales’ four forces.
Chief constable of Gwent Police Carmel Napier told the Silk Commission, which is looking at the current devolution settlement, that she supports the “principle of a single Welsh police service”.
In her submission, she said: “If policing is to be devolved to the Welsh Government then it must result in added value and improved service to the people of Wales.
“Interoperability between Welsh and English forces must be enhanced to ensure that
mutual aid can be provided and received when required. This is currently a barrier when providing support in Scotland and we should ensure that we avoid a similar situation including any legal implications from changes in statutory powers and responsibilities.
“The costs of devolving the services should be kept to a minimum and could be achieved
by a single integrated structure to offset start-up costs over time.”
But the man she reports to, Gwent’s Police and Crime Commissioner Ian Johnston, had a differing view.
He said: “The Silk Commission invited comments on the possibility of devolving policing to Wales. That’s the main agenda item and once you have addressed that issue should you discuss whether an All-Wales model is the answer.
“If policing was to be devolved to Wales, it might not necessarily follow that a single Welsh police force is the answer.
“I’m not convinced at this time that we have had sufficient debate around the pros and cons of devolving policing to Wales. Some politicians see it as a very simple issue when in fact, it is incredibly complex.
“The question of an All-Wales police force, in my view, is some way down the line.”
Scotland’s eight police forces have just been merged with the aim of making cost savings. Police Scotland, as the new force is known, is now the second largest force in the UK behind the Metropolitan Police.
In 2006, Labour’s then-Home Secretary Charles Clarke wanted to merge Wales’ four forces and was met with huge opposition in Wales. The plan was later abandoned.
The Commissioner has said that any idea of a single police force for Wales is "someway down the line", that is correct of course, a `single Welsh Police Force` is somewhere down the line, I am sure the commissioner did not mean to suggest that such a move is inevitable sometime in the future?.
In Political `timeline` this move is not so far away if it is to come about. The Silk Commission will report in or around November 2013.
Given there are two years, or there about, to the next general election who knows what the Tory Lib Dem `cobblition` will decide, and, there is no doubt, based on current form, if it produces a means of reducing the Wales settlement in future years by a suggestion that one police force is much cheaper to operate in Wales then that is the way they will go, it wont take long to devolve the authority, to run the Police Service in Wales, to the Assembly, it would`nt either be too difficult to devolve other legal processes to Wales with a corresponding reduction in the cost of maintaining them by the Welsh Assembly.
I dont think the Commissioner is properly considering the way, and, the amazing rapidity, which this UK Government has worked to change laws, which alter the face of society in the British Isles, within two years it has almost totally dismantled the Welfare system of support to the poorest in society, has totally altered the NHS in England to include privatisation by stealth, and turned the British education system on its head. Thank goodness they can no longer get their hands on our Wales Education system and our Wales Health service, both of which are broken, but which the Assembly are now accountable for, so, the blame rests with them and they are accountable to the people of Wales.
The same should be said for the police and legal services in Wales.
I think that may come sooner rather than later if a case is made for the UK government to `save` money by devolving the authority.