Dyfed-Powys Police
Encyclopedia
Dyfed-Powys Police is the territorial police force
responsible for policing Ceredigion
, Carmarthenshire
, Pembrokeshire
(which make up Dyfed
) and the county of Powys
, in Wales
. The territory it covers is the largest police area in England
and Wales
, and the fourth largest in the United Kingdom
. The force's headquarters are located in the town of Carmarthen
.
The force was formed in 1968, with the merger of the Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire Constabulary
, Pembrokeshire Constabulary and the Mid Wales Constabulary
.
The Dyfed
-Powys
region has over 350 miles of coast
line and many remote rural communities - yet also a number of old industrial areas that are currently experiencing significant change and redevelopment.
Despite the size of the area, the population is under 500,000, although it is boosted each year with large tourist numbers. The small population is reflected in the number of employees; 1,183 full-time officers (of whom 905 are of the rank of constable
). The force currently have 167 Special Constable
s and 25 Police Community Support Officer
s (PCSOs). It is the third smallest police force
in England and Wales, in terms of number of officers, after Warwickshire Police
and the City of London Police
.
Charles Clarke
on 6 February 2006, it was proposed to merge Dyfed-Powys Police with North Wales Police
, South Wales Police
and Gwent Police
, to form a single strategic force for all of Wales
. Following fierce opposition to the proposed changes from many quarters (including the police themselves) during the summer of 2006, the new Home Secretary John Reid abandoned the proposed restructuring of the police service in England and Wales.
Mr Arundale said he accepted that cuts had to be made in the Dyfed-Powys force area and hoped to achieve this through natural wastage and voluntary redundancies.
Though in 2011, the police service announced the recruitment of 39 new officers, 18 Police Constables and 21 Special Constables. Showing commitment to it's communities it serves during difficult financial times
was Terry Grange. Following a complaint, and during an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)
into financial irregularities, Grange retired with immediate effect. Dyfed-Powys Police Authority said it had accepted with regret his retirement with immediate effect, adding that Grange "had indicated that he had allowed his private life to interfere with his professional role. This has led the police authority to consider the chief constable's position and it was considered to be appropriate to accept his retirement." The IPCC continues its investigation. In newspapers of the 25 November, it emerged that Mr Grange was accused of letting his personal relationship with a judge interfere with the force’s handling of child abuse claims against the judge - Mr Grange was the ACPO spokes person on child abuse issues.
With this re-structuring, there have been many new appointments, these include the following:
and then we go on to the Specials themselves:
With this restructuring, Dyfed-Powys Police is the first Police service in Wales to adopt the National Policing Improvement Agencies(NPIA)National Recruitment Standards for Special Constables. Also the training for Special Constables has improved and now is similar to that of a regular Police Constable in its structure and time frame.
Territorial police force
The phrase Territorial Police Force varies in precise meaning according to the country to which it is related, generally distinguishing a force whose area of responsibility is defined by sub-national boundaries from others which deal with the entire country or a restricted range of...
responsible for policing Ceredigion
Ceredigion
Ceredigion is a county and former kingdom in mid-west Wales. As Cardiganshire , it was created in 1282, and was reconstituted as a county under that name in 1996, reverting to Ceredigion a day later...
, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
(which make up Dyfed
Dyfed
Dyfed is a preserved county of Wales. It was created on 1 April 1974 under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972, and covered approximately the same geographic extent as the ancient Principality of Deheubarth, although excluding the Gower Peninsula and the area west of the River Tawe...
) and the county of Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The territory it covers is the largest police area in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and the fourth largest in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The force's headquarters are located in the town of Carmarthen
Carmarthen
Carmarthen is a community in, and the county town of, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is sited on the River Towy north of its mouth at Carmarthen Bay. In 2001, the population was 14,648....
.
The force was formed in 1968, with the merger of the Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire Constabulary
Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire Constabulary
Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the counties of Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire, Wales.It was created on 1 July 1958 by the amalgamation of Carmarthenshire Constabulary and Cardiganshire Constabulary under section 4 of the Police Act 1946...
, Pembrokeshire Constabulary and the Mid Wales Constabulary
Mid Wales Constabulary
Mid-Wales Constabulary was the Home Office police force for the counties of Brecknockshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire, Wales, between 1948 and 1968....
.
The Dyfed
Dyfed
Dyfed is a preserved county of Wales. It was created on 1 April 1974 under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972, and covered approximately the same geographic extent as the ancient Principality of Deheubarth, although excluding the Gower Peninsula and the area west of the River Tawe...
-Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
region has over 350 miles of coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
line and many remote rural communities - yet also a number of old industrial areas that are currently experiencing significant change and redevelopment.
Despite the size of the area, the population is under 500,000, although it is boosted each year with large tourist numbers. The small population is reflected in the number of employees; 1,183 full-time officers (of whom 905 are of the rank of constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
). The force currently have 167 Special Constable
Special constable
A Special Constable is a law enforcement officer who is not a regular member of a police force. Some like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police carry the same law enforcement powers as regular members, but are employed in specific roles, such as explosive disposal technicians, court security, campus...
s and 25 Police Community Support Officer
Police community support officer
A police community support officer , or community support officer is a uniformed non-warranted officer employed by a territorial police force or the British Transport Police in England and Wales. Police community support officers were introduced in September 2002 by the Police Reform Act 2002...
s (PCSOs). It is the third smallest police force
Table of police forces in the United Kingdom
This table of police forces in the United Kingdom includes territorial police forces and special police forces. It does not include non-police law enforcement agencies or bodies of constables not constituted as police forces.-Table:-England and Wales:...
in England and Wales, in terms of number of officers, after Warwickshire Police
Warwickshire Police
Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It was known as Warwickshire Constabulary until 2001. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with only 998.6 regular officers as...
and the City of London Police
City of London Police
The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle and Inner Temple. The service responsible for law enforcement within the rest of Greater London is the Metropolitan Police Service, a separate...
.
All Wales force merger
Under proposals made by the Home SecretaryHome Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Charles Clarke
Charles Clarke
Charles Rodway Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, and served as Home Secretary from December 2004 until May 2006.-Early life:...
on 6 February 2006, it was proposed to merge Dyfed-Powys Police with North Wales Police
North Wales Police
North Wales Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. The headquarters are in Colwyn Bay, with divisional headquarters in St Asaph, Caernarfon and Wrexham....
, South Wales Police
South Wales Police
South Wales Police is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. Its headquarters are based in Bridgend.Covering Wales' capital city, Cardiff, as well as Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Swansea, and the western South Wales Valleys, it is the largest police force in Wales in terms of population,...
and Gwent Police
Gwent Police
Gwent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen in southeast Wales....
, to form a single strategic force for all of Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Following fierce opposition to the proposed changes from many quarters (including the police themselves) during the summer of 2006, the new Home Secretary John Reid abandoned the proposed restructuring of the police service in England and Wales.
Budget Cuts
In 2010 it was announced that most UK Public Services would be subject to budget cuts over the next five years. Dyfed-Powys Police is one of these public services faced with this problem and must find savings of £34m between now and 2015, and £13m in each subsequent year. Chief Constable Ian Arundale warned that there was going to be a "significant impact" on the front line.Mr Arundale said he accepted that cuts had to be made in the Dyfed-Powys force area and hoped to achieve this through natural wastage and voluntary redundancies.
Though in 2011, the police service announced the recruitment of 39 new officers, 18 Police Constables and 21 Special Constables. Showing commitment to it's communities it serves during difficult financial times
Retirement of Chief Constable Terry Grange
From March 2000 to until 19 November 2007 the Chief ConstableChief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
was Terry Grange. Following a complaint, and during an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)
Independent Police Complaints Commission
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales.-Role:...
into financial irregularities, Grange retired with immediate effect. Dyfed-Powys Police Authority said it had accepted with regret his retirement with immediate effect, adding that Grange "had indicated that he had allowed his private life to interfere with his professional role. This has led the police authority to consider the chief constable's position and it was considered to be appropriate to accept his retirement." The IPCC continues its investigation. In newspapers of the 25 November, it emerged that Mr Grange was accused of letting his personal relationship with a judge interfere with the force’s handling of child abuse claims against the judge - Mr Grange was the ACPO spokes person on child abuse issues.
Special Constabulary
Dyfed-Powys Police service, through late 2010 and early 2011 has been re-structuring its Special Constabulary; The Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer section. Its officers are known as Special Constables (all hold the office of Constable no matter what their rank) or informally as Specials. It has become known to many organisations as well as the police that volunteers are best managed by volunteers, so this new command and rank structure has been designed with that in mind, to boost the effectiveness of the Special Constabulary.With this re-structuring, there have been many new appointments, these include the following:
- Special Constabulary Lead - Superintendent
- Special Constabulary Co-Ordinator
and then we go on to the Specials themselves:
- Special Constabulary, Chief Officer
- Special Constabulary, Inspectors; x4 Inspectors, one per Basic Command Unit (BCU)
- Special Constabulary, Sergeants; formerly Section Officers
With this restructuring, Dyfed-Powys Police is the first Police service in Wales to adopt the National Policing Improvement Agencies(NPIA)National Recruitment Standards for Special Constables. Also the training for Special Constables has improved and now is similar to that of a regular Police Constable in its structure and time frame.