This is what the new chief constable had to say on policing in Gwent

FOLLOWING in his father's footsteps, Chief Constable Williams has served communities for the past 28 years and says it is a "privilege" to now be the head of the Gwent Police force.

The Swansea-born father spent 25 years working for South Wales Police before joining Gwent Police in 2014, taking up the deputy chief constable role in January 2017.

He is the Welsh policing lead for modern day slavery and human trafficking and, having been a firearms commander for 15 years, he is part of the National Counter Terrorism Cadre.

The father-of-two, who loves sport and has played rugby all his life, said that Gwent Police is committed to supporting the people of the force area. In a wide-ranging interview he talked about changes the force has been through in recent years, the impact of new technology and the priorities for policing in Gwent.

He said in the last few years, both crime and policing have changed a lot. Funding, the changing nature of crime and child sexual exploitation are some of the newer challenges police are facing.

He says he is grappling with many issues but said his priorities will be “ensuring our staff are prepared and ensuring we understand demand".

He also wants to make sure community policing is at the heart of what the force does, while ensuring they make the maximum use of digital technologies.

“Technology has changed policing significantly,” he adds. “It has changed the way we communicate with the public.”

Mr Williams says social media “really helps” because it makes it easier to directly communicate with the people of Gwent, especially when there is breaking news.

On the other hand, there is cyber crime, which can take many forms – from fraud to sexual offences, he adds.

“The Deputy Chief Constable Pam Kelly is the Welsh policing lead in cyber crime. She will probably estimate that cyber crime takes up in excess of 30 per cent of the crime we deal with in Wales,” he says. “Cyber crime is a different way of dealing with things.

“It won’t lead to less police officers, it will lead to them working in a different way.

“One of my main priorities is to be able to deal with complex crime, such as cyber, but being able to maintain community policing. Gwent, for me, is a community-based force.”

He added that the five distinct communities in Gwent all face different policing challenges.

Mr Williams thinks the force has “very good” community links, ensuring they link "with every part of the community", and that people feel they can report crimes to them.

“Gwent is a cohesive and tolerant community – and that is essential.”

ON ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR (ASB) AND DRUGS

It is no surprise to the chief that we have anti-social behaviour in Gwent, and he says the force acknowledges it all – from the lower level to the higher level.

“ASB really upsets people and we are committed to tackle it,” Mr Williams continues. “There is not just one solution for ASB. It is about educating people and working with them to look for long term solutions.

“It is about diverting people away from criminality.”

In terms of the drugs problems in Gwent, he believes it is no different to anywhere else. Mr Williams says Gwent Police “proactively target” drugs, using Operation Jewels as an example. The operation was the largest drug operations in the force’s history, with more than 250 officers on each operation carrying out simultaneous early morning raids in the Newport area.

Overall, the two separate operations have led to 68 arrests and 56 people being sentenced, with many others still awaiting sentencing.

“I think we have been very successful in what we have done recently, but the difficulty is understanding that, when we deal with individuals, another individual may replace them.

“The causes of drug problems are much deeper – and we are working with voluntary organisations to deal with them.”

He says there are a number of approaches they are taking.

“It is not just as simple as enforcement,” he says. “Firstly, we have to educate and we have to support families. We have to prevent and protect. And we definitely have to enforce.”

Mr Williams believes the current drug policies are working. There is a “huge” amount research showing illegal drugs are harmful, with further research showing their link with violent crime or domestic abuse, he says.

“So we need to prevent their use and we need to educate people,” the chief adds. “When people are dealing drugs, we need to target that.

“It is a complex picture.”

ON TERRORISM

The chief constable says terrorism is on everyone's radar and believes fighting it starts with neighbourhood policing and with engaging with the public.

Gwent Police engage with the government’s anti-radicalisation strategy – Prevent - which he thinks is “sound”.

“Radicalisation is a national concern,” Mr Williams continues. “We all have to be able to spot the signs for radicalisation, it is about being alert but not frightened. A big part is about being embedded in our communities.

“It is about identifying people who are being radicalised and work with them to turn them away from it.

“We also need to identify the people who are radicalising people.”

The chief constable would not be drawn on giving figures in relation to radicalisation in Gwent.

When asked about the recent debate on arming more officers more often, he said a big part of policing by consent is about people having trust in police officers and wanting to approach officers on the street.

“The question we have to ask is would people approach them if they were armed?” he asks. “That is an interesting question.

“We want to maintain policing by consent. We have to balance that with the ability to respond very quickly.

“I think we need a mixture – unarmed and armed officers. And we have got that.”

ON FUNDING AND REPORTS

Having saved £42m in recent years, Gwent Police has to save a further £11.3m by 2022/23, Mr Williams says.

“Like many other organisations, we have had to radically redesign the way we police,” he says. “We have had to reduce the number of officers we have, but we are now recruiting a number of police officers. We will be taking on 120 officers this year.”

He says the cuts have meant they have had to become more “effective” and, for instance, Gwent Police has gone from two custody units to one.

“There were a number of reasons for that,” he continues. “The demand has reduced – we didn’t need two buildings. "The ability to move to Newport has allowed us to refurbish the suite, placing us at the forefront of custody provision in Wales and England."

The last Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) report was very positive of the force, only identifying one area of concern - “Gwent Police has limited understanding of the threat posed by serious and organised crime,” it says in the report.

“Overall, we had a very good report and we have been able to sustain that for the last three years,” he continues. “We have come from a position where we did require to improve, but I think the force can get even better.

“I would like to think that, when we are inspected again in October, there will be a good grading because we now do a significant amount of targeting in relation to serious and organised crime.”

HIS MESSAGE

"We are committed to supporting you and dealing with the challenges you face. We are going to be embedded in your communities – we are a community-based policing organisation. We really want to help in dealing with ASB, crime and the fear of crime.

"I think we can do that, we are a force that has gone from strength to strength. I think we will build on that in the future."

To find out more, visit gwent.police.uk