Christopher Salmon: Front-line police are safe

CONSERVATIVE MPs and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed Powys have written to the Home Secretary expressing concerns about planned changes to funding allocation across the police force.

The letter, which has been signed by Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP Simon Hart, as well as Glyn Davies and Chris Davies, and Christopher Salmon, urges Theresa May to ‘support fair funding for rural areas’.

The letter goes on to say that ‘measures proposed as part of the formula focus heavily on density. Deprivation, measured by people living in flats, for example, or estate density, does not reflect rural reality well. Flats may be less common in rural areas, and estates less dense, but the deprivation is just as real. Bar density measured by the hectare seriously misunderstands Dyfed- Powys. The force covers 1m hectares, twice the size of Thames Valley Police. The majority of these hectares are agricultural where bars are clearly not a problem. In towns where bars and clubs are concentrated, however, alcohol has much the same effect as elsewhere. A ‘per hectare’ formula misses this.’

At present, Police funding is allocated based on the Police Allocation Formula. This is based on the estimated workload of each police force area, and covers:

• C rime related activity
• N on-crime activity (eg providing public reassurance or road traffic accident assistance)
• P olicing special events
• P olicing sparsely-populated areas
• W orkload weighting calculation for cost and time which include an area cost adjustment for variation in labour market costs in different areas.

The proposed new funding model will ‘be based on three broad levels that capture the drivers of crime and demand on police time,’ according to the review. These are:

• Population levels
• The underlying characteristics of the local population
• The environmental characteristics of police force areas.

The police budget has already been reduced by as much as 26% over the last five years, and any changes in the way that this money is allocated could have serious repercussions for policing in rural areas.

In an exclusive interview with The Herald, Christopher Salmon explained why he shared his concerns with the Home Secretary, and reaffirmed his commitment to protecting front-line policing.

Mr Salmon said that the proposed budget changes were based on two separate things; a comprehensive spending review which will reduce the overall budget by between 25 and 40 percent, and a review of the formula, which decides how the money is allocated. This second part could have a potentially serious impact on Dyfed Powys Police force.

“I was very keen, along with my parliamentary colleagues to make the case for rural police forces,” he said, pointing out that they faced very different challenges, including the need to keep buildings open, and greater fuel costs. “I don’t work for the Home Office, I work for the people of Dyfed-Powys,” he added.

Police Minister Mike Penning has previously said: “The current model for allocating police funding is complex, opaque and out of date. This consultation sets out proposals to deliver a police funding model for the future which is fair, robust and transparent.”

Mr Salmon agreed with this synopsis: “The formula does need changing, no one disputes that. It is opaque and we need clarity. As P&CC I am responsible for all money spent.

“It is right that they change it, my concern is that the formula is fair to rural areas.”

When we quoted figures suggesting that the police budget had already been cut by 26% in the last five years, Mr Salmon thought that the figure was nearer to 20%, but agreed that significant cuts had been made.

In terms of future reductions, he said “Civil service departments will be asked to provide models, but in Dyfed Powys we are anticipating cuts of 5.5% per year.”

When we asked what the effects of these hypothetical cuts would be, Mr Salmon told us that he believed Dyfed Powys Police force could still make ‘significant savings.’

“These would be in the area of management – less ‘bosses in the office’, he said. “We could also work more closely with other bodies like the fire and rescue service.

Mr Salmon insisted that whatever reductions were made, front line policing would be protected.

“As long as I’m in the job, I will protect front-line services. Dyfed- Powys has already made savings of £8.8m, at the same time as recruiting 30 extra officers. Crime and anti-social behaviour have gone down by 12%

When we asked about comments made by the Chief Constable of North Wales Mike Polin, who said that the Police force would “bear the brunt” of Home Office budget cuts, Mr Salmon said that he was broadly right, in that the police force received the largest part of the Home Office Budget, but he stressed that it was up to the Home Office to decide where they made their savings.

We pointed out to Mr Salmon that while the police force across the country has been reduced in size by around 17,000 police officers and 3,000 PCSOs over the last 5 years, Dyfed Powys has actually increased the size of their front-line force.

“That’s down to better management and better leadership,” he said.

As an example of savings made that have seemed unpopular, we asked Mr Salmon about the cessation of monitored CCTV in Carmarthen Town Centre.

“I completely understand people may seem nervous about changes, but there was no evidence to support CCTV monitoring. This year crime rates in Carmarthen are down,” he said.

“I make these difficult decisions to protect front line policing, and I will continue to do this for as long as I am in the job.”