By Alun Michael, Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales, at the Community Justice Cymru conference 2013.

1. What Difference will we make?
Alun Michael
Police and Crime Commissioner
for South Wales

2. Duties of the Commissioner
• Produce Police and Crime Plan, setting out
priorities
• Scrutinise, support and challenge performance
• Set police budget and precept
• Appoint Chief Constable
• Account to the Police and Crime Panel
• Investigate complaints against Chief Constable
• Give a voice to the public, especially victims
• Collaborate with other forces and agencies

3. Oath of Office
• I will serve all the people of South Wales in the office of
Police and Crime Commissioner.
• I will act with integrity and diligence in my role and, to
the best of my ability, will execute the duties of my
office to ensure that the police are able to cut crime
and protect the public.
• I will give a voice to the public, especially victims of
crime, and work with other services to ensure the
safety of the community and effective criminal justice.
• I will take all steps within my power to ensure
transparency of my decisions, so that I may be
properly held to account by the public.
• I will not interfere with the operational independence of
police officers.

4. Strategic Priorities
• Be tough on crime and tough on the causes of
crime
• Put co-operative values into practice
• Pursue social justice as well as justice
• To both hold the police to account and protect the
police from political interference
• Using evidence-based, partnership approach to
see “what works”
• Local Authority is key – plus NHS, Fire
Service, Community organisations, business

5. Election Pledge: Simple Language
• Clear, simple communication with the public
– Cut down on acronyms
– Abolish the use of „PCC‟

6. Chief Inspector backs South Wales approach
• Tom Winsor, the new Chief Inspector of Police
says:
• Police priority must be to cut crime
• Cutting crime is for everyone, not
just police
• Partnership is essential
Together we can achieve more than
we can achieve alone

7. Crime reduction at local level
Why co-operative working is central to my work:
• Crime and Disorder partnerships: introduced in Crime
and Disorder Act 1998
Section 17: Duty to consider crime and disorder
implications.
(1)Without prejudice to any other obligation imposed on it, it
shall be the duty of each authority to which this section
applies to exercise its various functions with due regard
to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions
on, and the need to do all that it reasonably can to
prevent, crime and disorder in its area.

8. Commissioner‟s Duties
Police Reform Act 2011…………………….
1. The Police & Crime Commissioner must, in exercising his
functions, have regard to the relevant priorities of each responsible
authority.
2. The Commissioner, in exercising his functions, and a responsible
authority, in exercising its functions conferred by or under section 6 of
the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in relation to that police area, must
act in co-operation with each other.
3. The Commissioner, and the criminal justice bodies which exercise
functions as criminal justice bodies in that police area, must make
arrangements (so far as it is appropriate to do so) for the exercise of
functions so as to provide an efficient and effective criminal justice
system for the police area.

9. Criminal Justice Bodies
• The third legal requirement applies to:
– The Crown Prosecution Service
– Courts Service
– Prisons
– Youth Offending Team
– Probation
………..as well as the Police

10. Crime & Disorder Reduction Plan – a Justice
Reinvestment Approach
Police & Crime Plan
Force Delivery Plan
BCU Delivery Plan
Local Community
Youth
Offending
18-25
Violence
Reduction
NHS &
Drugs &
Alcohol
Mental
Health
Violence
against women
& girls
Specific
Communities
Partnership Working
Partnership Working
Partnership Working
Strategic
Outcomes
Key
Performance
BCU Delivery on
BOTH
Variable
Detail/Nuance
Synergy of
Policing Plan
& Chief
Constable‟s
vision
Peter Vaughan‟s
delivery of “line
of sight”
Local &
evidence of
need
Anti-
Social
Behaviour

11. Development Priorities
1. Crime Reduction and Prevention
2. Working with the Criminal Justice System
3. Strong, swift response to anti-social behaviour
4. Youth Offending and Youth Justice
5. Improving the prospects for the 18-25 age group
6. Putting victims at the heart of our work
7. Tackling violence against women and girls
8. Understanding and addressing the needs of
older people

12. Development Priorities
9. Working with partners on the causes of crime
10.Making it easier for the public to communicate
with the police
11.Tackle online crime, including child abuse
12.Restorative Justice
13.Road Safety
14.Making the public feel safer
15.Equality, Diversity and Poverty

13. Peelian Principles
REMINDER ……..
• The purpose of the police is to cut crime
– to reduce offending and cut reoffending
• The police are the public and the public are the police
Those are our priorities too

14. …an additional principle?
• A tenth Peelian principle?
“Understand the real levels of crime, not just
what is reported, and share this knowledge
with the public to reduce the fear of crime.”

15. www.southwalescommissioner.org.uk
@commissionersw