The Labour government’s plans for Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, restoring town centre patrols and recruiting thousands of additional police personnel, have received a cautious welcome from South Wales Police Federation.

 

Chair Phil Walker, commenting on a speech by Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson at the Police Superintendents’ Conference last week (10 September), said it would be necessary for the new government to turn 'warm words into action'.

 

He reflected that: “After years of under-investment by the last government and our colleagues still run ragged with impossible workloads, it is welcome to hear reassuring words about further recruitment. But this must be backed up by action and actual investment as this is how the new government will be judged by our colleagues, by what they do and not what they say.

 

“We all agree about the value of neighbourhood policing and tackling anti-social behaviour, getting knives off the street, and training to further professionalise the essential work we do. What we need in South Wales is proper investment in policing with long-term secure funding so that we can plan and deliver.”

 

 

Dame Diana heaped praise on the police response to the summer riots. These had been triggered by the tragic murder of three children in Southport.

 

She said: “At a time when we should have been focused only on supporting those affected by the attack and allowing the urgent police investigation to get underway, we instead found ourselves responding to an outbreak of widespread violent disorder.

 

“The hijacking of those poor families’ grief at that time was utterly shameful, as was the violence directed towards police officers working to maintain order and protect the community. The swiftness of the response by policing and the wider criminal justice system was fundamental to getting the situation under control and restoring order. So, we recognise your service and your sacrifice.”

 

 

 

 

As part of a national mobilisation plan, more than 40,000 officer shifts were worked over that 10-day period, with over 6,600 officers deployed on one day alone.

 

She continued: “The fact that arrests were being made within hours and convicted offenders behind bars facing prison time within days not only showed we were serious when we said there would be a price to pay for criminality on our streets, but it also demonstrated to the law-abiding public that this behaviour will not be tolerated.”

 

The Kingston upon Hull MP, a former chair of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said she was appalled at figures revealed in September showing that assaults on blue light workers were still 'far too high'. Agreeing with the Home Secretary that this was a 'stain on our society' she added it will not be tolerated.

 

 

Labour will also roll-out a 'radical Young Futures prevention programme', Dame Diana said. This would provide early intervention for those at-risk, and announced plans to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade.

 

She concluded: “As the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have made clear, we are very serious about tackling crime, rebuilding confidence and putting neighbourhood policing back at the heart of our communities. This is going to take some time, but what I have seen in my short time in my role has given me a renewed confidence that we will succeed.