A Police Service for Wales?

14 June 2006

In his famous poem “Hon” (1949) Professor Sir TH Parry-Williams railed against our notorious Welsh tendency to squabble:

Beth yw’r ots gennyf i am Gymru?
Damwain a hap yw fy mod yn ei libart yn byw
Nid yw hon ar fap yn ddim byd
Ond cilcyn o ddaear mewn cilfach gefn
Ac yn dipyn o boendod i’r rhai sy’n credu mewn trefn

What do I care about Wales?
It’s nothing but chance that I live in her backyard
This place on a map is nothing
But an insignificant backwater
And a bit of a pain to those who believe in order

As part of the ‘mewnlifiad’, the flood of incomers to Wales, I find that I empathise with Parry-Williams’ evident frustration, perhaps the more so as a migrant to North Wales in particular. The continuing mutual suspicion between the ‘Gogs’ and the ‘Hwntws’, between Cymro and Sais, is as irritating and unnecessary on a daily basis as it is unhelpful to the nascence of Wales as a modern European country on a longer timescale. Why do we spend so much time and effort on trying to prove that the others, whomever they may be, have deceived or robbed us, and so little to striving to achieve our true potential as a unified whole, a single country?

The geography, demography and feeble transport infrastructure of contemporary Wales undoubtedly assist those who wish to expend their energies in that ancient Celtic tradition of fighting amongst ourselves, but surely we can and must now rise above this. Wales, as Sir Jeremy Beecham will shortly announce, truly does have the potential for excellence at the European level. Our size (‘pawb yn nabod pawb’) offers real benefits that are simply unattainable on the other side of the border – but to achieve that of which we are capable the old internal animosities will have to be consigned to history. We are one real country for the first time in hundreds of years (the first time ever, perhaps), and in my opinion we simply must stand together as a nation united.

Of course the inception of the Assembly has helped enormously in the process of kindling a true spirit of nationhood. Who can help but feel an upwelling pride when standing in our iconic new Senedd, looking down into the debating chamber or out beyond the steel, slate, glass and wood to the Bay glittering in the new dawn? The Government of Wales Bill can only strengthen this renaissance, and the second referendum seems both inevitable and winnable. But the most important reason for a nation state to exist is to protect the lives, and then the way of life, of its citizens. In the words of Jeremy Bentham the aim of government must be to provide for the “greatest good of the greatest number”.  I concur.  What then, of police restructuring?

As Rhobert Lewis pointed out in the last issue, plans to create a single police force in Wales are well advanced.  Following the Home Secretary’s public endorsement of the case for change set out by HM Inspector of Constabulary Denis O’Connor in his report “Closing the Gap” things have moved rapidly, with Mr. Clarke making a formal statement on 3 March of his intention to merge the four existing Welsh forces into one with effect from 1 April 2007. A four month period for objections commenced immediately and is expected to be followed by the necessary Order being confirmed, after Parliamentary scrutiny, on 25 July this year.

O’Connor claims that only so-called ‘strategic forces’ of 4000 officers or more (we have 7500 in Wales) have the resilience and flexibility to deliver the seven essential protective services that he identifies (e.g. homicide investigation, counter-terrorism, emergency planning) to the enhanced level deemed necessary while simultaneously ensuring that local neighbourhood policing can continue uninterrupted. He dismisses all other options (forms of partnership and collaboration) out of hand and plumps for large scale reorganisation  across England and Wales as the only method likely to deliver the goods.

The O’Connor report has not received academic acclaim - in fact it has been deservedly, comprehensively and widely ridiculed. But O’Connor is not an academic, and the Home Secretary is clearly quite entitled to say (as he has) that he prefers the professional advice of the Inspectorate of Constabulary to that of O’Connor’s professorial critics. All four existing Chief Constables in Wales agree with O’Connor’s basic thesis – that there is indeed an identifiable gap in the provision of these vital protective services. Something must therefore be done, and quickly.

O’Connor’s original work, and the Home Secretary’s initial plans, took no account of the self-evident (to us Welsh) fact that Wales is different. Our geography, demography and transport infrastructure demand that Wales be governed as a country of regions. It is an unalterable fact that it takes more or less the same time to travel by train from London to Edinburgh as it does from Llandudno to Cardiff. Governance of an all-Wales police service will require regional and local structures if the service is not to become unacceptably remote from the people. A decision making process that is a five hour journey away will not even be workable, let alone acceptable.  A regional police committee to provide democratic oversight (all the more important in light of the substantial centralisation of police governance contained in the Police and Justice Bill currently in Parliament) and a regionally accountable “top cop” are both necessary - each requires a specific amendment to primary legislation. O’Connor’s work also lacks a credible financial plan. His naïve and blithe assumption that most of the (substantial) costs of enhancing the protective services can be met from economy of scale savings based upon the simplistic tenet that “big is beautiful” ignores the lessons from history to a degree that is worrying. More new money from London is required if the Gap is to be satisfactorily closed. Negotiations continue.

But there are additional reasons, specific to Wales, for supporting the creation of the Heddlu Cymru/Police Service of Wales. The delivery of domestic peace and tranquillity is another justification for the existence of governments. Wales, as a small-to-medium sized self-governing country, will benefit enormously from one national police force, working closely with both government and people – possible in Wales to an extent unimaginable in England. The creation of the new force has the potential, perhaps beyond any other public service, to act as a force for good in binding the nation together; to banish the residues of our fractious past and to assist in the development of the new, confident “Better Wales”. As Parry-Williams recognised in “Hon”, having gone back to his roots in Rhyd Ddu, Wales is a country whose outlook and values are strongly based in our network of local communities, but a nation nonetheless:

Mi glywaf grafangau Cymru’n dirdynnu fy mron
Duw a’m gwaredo ni allaf ddianc rhag hon

I feel the talons of Wales tearing my breast
God help me I can’t escape from her 

Whatever their background, almost all those I have met in Wales share a passionate belief in our country – a belief we should exploit, and building a locally based national police force will help us do so. This is a big step, but if done properly, the right one. As Lloyd George once said: “Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps”.

Richard Brunstrom
Chief Constable of North Wales