North Wales Police scrutinise progress on road safety and violence against women

Police performance on road safety, rape conviction and combatting violence against women and girls came under the spotlight at a recent North Wales Police meeting.

The Strategic Executive Board, chaired by Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for North Wales, Andy Dunbobbin, on October 30 scrutinised the force’s performance over the last 12 months.

It also provided a progress update on North Wales Police’s performance against the three primary areas in the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan. These are:

• Operation Soteria
• Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan
• Road Safety

Operation Soteria is a Home Office funded research and change programme to drive up charging and conviction rates for rape and serious sexual offences.

During the meeting the Commissioner heard how the force have been progressing the National Operating Model and the six pillars approach:

• Suspect focused investigations
• Repeat suspects
• Procedural justice approach to victim engagement
• Learning development and officer and staff well-being
• Data and performance
• Digital Forensics

The commissioner also scrutinised the progress of the North Wales Police Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Delivery Plan.

North Wales Police have adopted a refreshed framework, which outlines how they will protect women and girls from violence; pursue those who commit or seek to commit offences; prevent offences being committed; and prepare policing to continually improve the safety of women and girls on our communities across North Wales.

Road Safety

The meeting also shone a light on road safety across north Wales.

The areas examined included killed and seriously injured data and an understanding of the types of fatal collisions, locations, and driver ages.

Enforcement was also looked at, including data on the enforcement of offences, such as drink and drug driving, speeding and mobile phone use.

The panel also focused on how North Wales Police are approaching the issue of off-road motorcycles, e-bikes, and e-scooters, as well as the use Community Speed Watch.

Panel Conclusions

Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales Andy Dunbobbin said the Strategic Executive Board meeting gave him a  “good feeling for what matters to communities”

He continued: “North Wales Police was an early adopter of Operation Soteria, and I wanted to get a full understanding of how the National Operating Model is being embedded in North Wales.

“Operation Soteria is critical in delivering real and sustained improvement and transformational change across the criminal justice system.

“Only by improving support for victims and ensuring more perpetrators are bought to justice will this be achieved. I will continually revisit the model and six pillars approach to improve justice outcomes for victims of rape and serious sexual offences.

“Secondly, I scrutinised the Force VAWG action plan. In February 2023, the Home Secretary included VAWG within the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR), which sets out the national threats to public safety.

“This means that North Wales Police response to VAWG should be on a par with terrorism and serious and organised crime.

“I wanted to ensure North Wales Police is listening to victims and hearing their voices, so that the VAWG plan is working towards what matters for them.

“Excellent work has been achieved in recent times in this area, but there is always plenty more to do, again this area is one that I will keep under continual scrutiny.

“In respect of examining road safety, North Wales has seen some significant reductions in the number of fatal casualties across the region, which have decreased by 19%.

“I also heard about Operation Darwen, the all-Wales campaign which runs from early spring through until the autumn and is aimed at increasing awareness of motorcycle safety and reducing casualties on the roads.

“Another area I have received concern from the public is in relation to off-road motorcycles, e-bikes, and scooters. The Police are developing ways to tackle when they are used for anti-social behaviour, an approach which I fully support.

“As PCC for North Wales, I want to again reassure the public that I will continue to scrutinise the Force performance and work closely with the Chief Constable to support the ongoing work.”

Residents can learn more about the Strategic Executive Board and read minutes of past meetings on the OPCC website here.