News

£44k secured for policing centre

Published

12 years ago

January 23, 2014

DYFED-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Christopher Salmon has secured almost £44,000 to launch a Centre for Rural Policing and Justice.

The grant, from the College of Policing, will see Mr Salmon and Dyfed-Powys Police collaborate with the Cardiff-based Universities’ Police Science Institute (UPSI) and others to start a high-level network to develop new expertise in keeping rural communities safe from crime.

Mr Salmon said: “The work we do with UPSI and others will lead to people in some of our most isolated areas feeling safer.

“I’m thrilled that my office has secured this substantial sum from the College’s innovation capacity building fund.

“This collaboration will initially build new working relationships between academic establishments, Dyfed-Powys Police and my office.

“This will help develop new skills throughout the police force to build and use research evidence to improve all aspects of frontline policing.”

The Centre for Rural Policing and Justice will provide a network to develop and share information, best practices and approaches to rural policing. Its work will improve policing and justice in rural areas – the biggest challenge faced by Dyfed-Powys Police.

The key collaborative approach is one of a partnership between the Commissioner’s office, Dyfed-Powys Police and UPSI.

The wider collaborative approach will involve a network between academic institutions across Wales, such as Aberystwyth University and University of Wales Trinity Saint David, using a mixture of skills and expertise. It will also incorporate organisations from the voluntary and private sectors. Mr Salmon, who has committed £5,000 to the centre’s launch costs of around £49,000, said:

“What works in policing in rural areas and communities is an issue that has been neglected by researchers, policy makers and practitioners.

“Compared with the amount of attention paid to policing urban environments, little attention has been directed to the particular policing needs of people living and working in rural areas. “This is despite rural communities presenting special challenges to the police, including isolation and limited access to resources.”

Professor Martin Innes, of UPSI, based at Cardiff University, said: “Understanding what are the key policing problems and priorities for people living in Dyfed-Powys, and then how they can be most effectively tackled, will be the focus for this new partnership.

“Using leading-edge data analytics and research, we will be looking to identify what works, what doesn’t and what’s promising in making communities safer.”

The Centre for Rural Policing and Justice’s work will feed into the National What Works Centre for Crime Reduction, providing robust and comprehensive evidence for police to tackle crime. College of Policing head of research Rachel Tuffin said:

“As the home of the What Works Centre for Crime Reduction, the College of Policing wants to build links between police and academia so the way we go about policing is as efficient and effective as possible.

“This funding will be a springboard for future research and learning so police officers and staff get the best evidence to help them cut crime and keep the public safe.”

The Dyfed-Powys grant comes from the College of Policing’s Innovation Capacity Building Fund and is for the current financial/calendar year.

Crime

Tenby man due in court charged with rape and sexual assault

Published

42 minutes ago

March 2, 2026

Court Reporter

A TENBY man is due to appear before the court on Tuesday (Mar 3) charged with rape and sexual assault following an alleged incident last year.

Wayne Allen, aged 57, of St Julians Street, Tenby, is listed for a first hearing at 2:00pm.

He faces one count of rape, contrary to Section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, relating to an allegation that on May 20, 2024, he intentionally penetrated a woman without her consent and without a reasonable belief that she was consenting.

Allen is also charged with sexual assault, contrary to Section 3 of the same Act, relating to alleged sexual touching of a woman between May 19 and May 20, 2024.

Rape is an indictable-only offence, meaning the case can only be dealt with at Crown Court, so the case will be sent up.

The Herald will report the outcome after the hearing.

Community

Martyn Butler dies aged 71 months after Haverfordwest visit

Published

54 minutes ago

March 2, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Co-founder of Terrence Higgins Trust attended local plaque unveiling honouring friend Terry Higgins

A LEADING figure in the UK’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis has died aged 71 — just months after attending a plaque unveiling ceremony in Haverfordwest honouring his close friend Terry Higgins.

Martyn Butler, who helped establish the Terrence Higgins Trust in 1982 following Higgins’ death from an AIDS-related illness, died on Friday (Feb 21). He had remained active in awareness work for more than four decades and was widely recognised for his contribution to public health campaigning.

The Terrence Higgins Trust confirmed his death, paying tribute to his lifelong commitment to supporting people living with HIV and improving sexual health education across the UK.

Butler’s connection to Pembrokeshire was particularly strong. Terry Higgins, after whom the charity is named, grew up in Haverfordwest and attended Tasker Milward School. Higgins is widely recognised as one of the first people in the UK known to have died from AIDS-related complications in 1982.

Last year, Butler travelled to Haverfordwest to attend the unveiling of a blue plaque commemorating Higgins’ life. The ceremony marked an important moment in recognising both Higgins’ story and the wider history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which claimed thousands of lives in the UK during the 1980s and 1990s.

Friends and colleagues described Butler as a tireless advocate who helped shape the national response to the emerging AIDS crisis at a time when fear, stigma and misinformation were widespread.

In the early days of the epidemic, Butler famously used his own home telephone number as part of one of the UK’s first AIDS helplines, offering advice and support to people who had nowhere else to turn.

Over the decades that followed, the Terrence Higgins Trust grew into the country’s leading HIV and sexual health charity, providing testing services, education programmes, support networks and national campaigning.

Butler was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2022 in recognition of his services to people affected by HIV.

Tributes have been paid from across the UK health and charity sectors, with colleagues describing him as compassionate, determined and instrumental in changing public attitudes towards HIV.

His death comes at a time when medical advances mean people living with HIV can now expect near-normal life expectancy with treatment — a transformation many campaigners say would not have been possible without the groundwork laid by early activists such as Butler.

Local figures who met him during the Haverfordwest plaque unveiling said he remained passionate about ensuring the stories of those affected by HIV — including Terry Higgins — were remembered by future generations.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been publicly announced.

Image:

Martyn Butler at the Terry Higgins plaque unveiling in Haverfordwest (Pic: Martin Cavaney).

Education

School in lockdown after reported phone threat

Published

2 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Tom Sinclair

DYFED POWYS POLICE are dealing with an incident at a secondary school after a threat was reportedly made by telephone.

Officers were called to Maesydderwen Comprehensive School in Ystradgynlais on Monday (Mar 2), where the school implemented its lockdown procedure as a precaution to prioritise safety.

A police spokesperson said officers are working with the school following the report and parents have been informed through the school messaging app.

Police confirmed there are no reports of anyone injured and that all pupils and staff on site are safe and secure.

Officers remain at the scene and further information will be shared when available.