Annual report 2023/24

Introduction
Keep neighbourhoods safe
Combat serious crime
Support victims and protect the vulnerable
Increase community confidence in policing
Drive sustainable policing
Strategic Policing Requirement
Looking to the future

Introduction

This is my eighth and final annual report as Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent.

It has been an honour and privilege to serve the people of Gwent as their elected Commissioner over the last eight years.

This annual report is just a sample of what we’ve achieved over the last year and I’m incredibly proud of the work we have delivered for the people of Gwent.

Partnership working with other organisations and our communities has again been key to our shared success throughout this year. Through our effective partnership arrangements, we have successfully worked to mitigate a range of issues across policing, the criminal justice system, commissioned services and our public and third sector partners.

Since introducing the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act in Welsh Government in 2015, I have put a focus on creating sustainable partnership models in everything I’ve been involved. You will see this reflected through this year’s report.

There have been some significant pieces of work during the year. Coinciding with the release of the UK Government’s new Anti-Social Behaviour Plan at the end of March 2023, the Home Office released a consultation on community safety partnerships (CSPs) and their links to Commissioners. They asked how closely Police and Crime Plans and CSP plans and strategies should be aligned, and whether Commissioners should have additional responsibilities and powers to influence the work of a CSP. We worked closely with our CSP partners here in Gwent, across Wales and with Welsh Government colleagues to inform our responses. In my role as APCC lead for local policing, I also helped shape the response on behalf of all Commissioners, ensuring the Welsh context is considered thoroughly by the Home Office.

In December, the results of the consultation concluded that PCCs and CSPs should work closer together by formally sharing plans to inform each other’s priorities. They also gave PCCs the ability to make recommendations on the priorities and activity of CSPs, albeit the CSP can decide not to act on the request. A broader review of CSPs is now under way by the Home Office, which should report in 2024. Tied into this, the regional review into community safety, informed by me and my office, proposes to introduce a new forum bringing the chairs of CSPs, and other board meetings impacting on community safety, together to solve the problems individual meetings can’t solve alone. This will hopefully be enacted in 2024, with my successor chairing the meeting.

Following the community safety theme, my office brought community safety partners together last year to support them to develop the first Serious Violence Duty Strategic Needs Assessment and subsequently the interim Strategy: ‘A Gwent Without Violence’. This was alongside funding from the Home Office to support this work and invest in interventions to prevent and reduce violence. This significant undertaking with partners lays the foundations for a clear and focused approach to tackling serious violence across all areas of Gwent in the coming years, with the Duty placing a statutory requirement on partners to do this. To support this, I have recruited a new Delivery Manager into my office, who works for all the partners to support and coordinate this work.

Like 2023, 2024 looks to continue the trend of significant reform to community safety structures and requirements, and reshaping the role and remit of PCCs, bringing them ever closer to this work. I know that with the team I am proud to have developed over the years, after I step down they will continue to strive to work with partners to make the existing system work better.

During the year, the Home Secretary called on police forces to increase the use of stop and search to prevent violent crime. When used effectively and justifiably, stop and search helps tackle crime and protect the public. However, accurate information and intelligence should always support the basis for its use. It is not an area of policing that should be arbitrarily driven by targets. I want to take this opportunity to again reassure our communities that we will continue to scrutinise Gwent Police’s use of stop and search though the Legitimacy Scrutiny Panel and my Strategy and Performance Board.

Although I always maintain that Gwent is overall a safe place to live and work, unfortunately Gwent Police recorded the highest level of incidents attended in the past 5 years, which continues to place a significant demand on the service. Recorded crimes were virtually the same number as last year at 58,000. There are definitely some positives in these figures though, with burglary, some thefts and public order coming down. However, we are seeing some acquisitive crimes, like shoplifting, and some violence and harassment going in the wrong direction. A significant focus for my successor will be to scrutinise and work with Gwent Police and partners, to try to tackle these numbers and hopefully bring them down again. No one single solution can tackle crime in our society, but collectively we can have an impact.

Unfortunately, during the year, I was unwell and had to step back from the role for a period of time. I was in regular contact with my deputy Eleri Thomas and chief executive Sian Curley throughout this period, who kept me fully appraised about work and any significant developments. I am very grateful to both Eleri and Sian and the wider OPCC for stepping in to cover for me during this period.
Jeff Cuthbert
Police and Commissioner for Gwent

Keep neighbourhoods safe

My overall assessment at the end of this year is the neighbourhoods of Gwent are still safe. However, the improvements I had hoped to report have not materialised. The impact of wider societal pressures such as the economy have had a negative impact, which we have seen in shoplifting and retail crime increases. I am pleased that burglary rates remained at an historic low and public order and anti-social behaviour have been steadily declining following the early year highs; a positive trend. Furthermore, I am confident that the outcomes we have achieved through the services that have been commissioned have made neighbourhoods safer. These services are set up well for my successor to take forward.

Key commitments
(comparison between 2022/23 and 2023/24)

Reduce public order offences (decreased) and anti-social behaviour (increased), and the number of people who repeatedly carry out these acts (slight increase)
Reduce acquisitive crime and repeat offenders (increased)
Improve the safety of roads throughout Gwent (remained stable - killed or seriously injured)
Commission and invest in effective crime prevention initiatives (see below)

What we have done

Granted community safety projects £602k, of which £243k helped ensure more informed, effective collaborative working by funding the community safety partnerships, £38k funded a Safer Gwent analyst, and £208k funded the five youth offending services.
Completed tender process to recommission Women’s Pathfinder Whole System Approach and 18-25 Early Intervention Service with a new provider (Nelson’s Trust) starting in April 2024.
During the year, there were 215 referrals into the 18–25 Early Intervention Service and 243 referrals into the Women’s Pathfinder WSA from Gwent.
70% of service users who engaged with the 18–25 Early Intervention Service and who engaged with the Women’s Pathfinder WSA were found to make positive progress towards achieving at least one their identified key outcomes.
Positive Futures, a social inclusion programme that uses sport as a tool to engage with young people and discourage anti-social behaviour, ran 838 scheduled diversionary sessions across Gwent.
There were 130 reactive Positive Futures sessions held to tackle specific anti-social behaviour issues with:
o 1,002 young people attending.
o 90% reporting improved health and well-being;
o 74% reporting improved life skills; and
o 41% reporting increased engagement in education, employment and training.
Contributed £867k to the Gwent Drug and Alcohol Service (GDAS) Criminal Justice Service, which worked with 2600 service users.
The percentage of GDAS service users making positive changes in each outcome area was:
o Alcohol misuse – 68%
o Substance misuse – 75%
o Offending – 77%
o Health and well-being – 68%
o Accommodation – 75%
o Finance – 81%
o Relationships – 74%
Successfully bid for £520,000 from the Home Office’s Safer Streets fund to support initiatives that tackle crime in Ebbw Vale and Maindee (Newport), as well as delivering a project with Gwent’s colleges and universities.
Through previous Safer Streets funding, ensuring youth workers from Cwmbran Centre for Young People targeted problem areas to engage with young people and encourage them to attend the centre instead of hanging around public areas.
Supported Gwent Police, partners and communities with community initiatives to help tackle anti-social behaviour associated with Halloween and Bonfire Night.
Delivered cyber security workshop for businesses to help improve their resilience in the face of growing cyber-crime.
Addressed political leaders and key partners at Westminster as part of the formal launch of Anti-Social Behaviour Week, as well as taking part in community activities in Gwent during the week.
Influenced the national community safety review, including providing funding and linking the national review work into the separate regional review.
Donated £65,000 to the Gwent High Sheriff’s Community Fund to provide safer and better quality of life for people in Gwent by supporting projects that help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.
Worked with Gwent Police, local authorities, commoners associations and local MPs to focus on illegal off-road biking, as well as supported Gwent Police’s operation to tackle off-road biking in Torfaen.
Welcomed the opening of a new ‘pump track’ for mountain bikes and BMXs in Caerphilly, supported by funding from my office.
Funded training sessions by the charity Street Doctors, which saw more than 100 young people learn first aid and empower them to become lifesavers for their communities.

Combat serious crime

There has been a mixed picture in relation to serious crime. It is positive to see a reduction in violence against women and girls. However increases in reports of domestic and sexual offences indicate the confidence to report crimes hasn’t been impacted. It will be vital to monitor this closely to understand the meaning behind the data. We have also seen increases in the most serious violence offences; however, I have been assured that some of these (for example, drug offences) are due to an operational focus to tackle the problem. The implementation of the Serious Violence Duty and new schemes like the cautioning and relationship abuse programme and the police-perpetrated domestic abuse service (Tabw), all driven through my office, are new initiatives which show how seriously we are trying to tackle violence, and I am sure we will see the benefits these bring in coming years.

Key commitments
(comparison between 2022/23 and 2023/24)

Reduce the number of repeat victims of child criminal and sexual exploitation (Police data show a slight decrease, but we believe this to be under-reported).
Increase disruption of serious organised crime, and reinvest assets seized back into communities (Drug offences increased, serious violence increased).
Improve the overall criminal justice response to violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence (reported rape and serious sexual offences remained stable, domestic related crimes increased, violence against women and girls decreased and criminal justice outcomes improved).
Commission and invest in services that work with perpetrators of serious crime to prevent and reduce re-offending (see below).

What we have done

Using the proceeds of crime seized from criminals, I awarded £335,824 to 13 organisations supporting children and young people across Gwent as part of my Police Community Fund.
The Serious Violence Duty working group, led by my office, delivered the first strategic needs assessment, and interim strategy across Gwent and all local authority areas, which I will now monitor the effectiveness of as part of the Duty requirements.
Helped reinforced Newport’s commitment to the National Anti-Violence Charter by ensuring a commemorative plaque about the Knife Angel was erected at Civic Centre and presenting a special award to the winner of our anti-violence sticker competition, fulfilling our contractual obligations.
Promoted anti-scamming advice throughout the year online and in-person at more than 60 public engagement sessions, engaging with more than 8,500 residents and businesses.
Launched a new scheme Cautioning And Relationship Abuse (CARA) with South Wales OPCC, Safer Merthyr Tydfil and Phoenix Domestic Abuse Services to tackle offenders who have committed low level relationship abuse.

Support victims and protect the vulnerable

I am very proud that Connect Gwent and the Victim Care Unit, which my office funds, continues to have high levels of satisfaction from victims. The same can be said for the specialist sexual violence and domestic abuse services I fund. I am confident from the performance this year that we have the systems in place to support people who become victims, and the quality of those services remains high. However, there is always more that can be done, including an improvement in the timeliness of updates to victims at key stages of a case.

Key commitments
(comparison between 2022/23 and 2023/24)

Improve victim services and ensure that the needs of victims are identified and responded to appropriately through Connect Gwent and the Victim Care Unit (Positive satisfaction with the Victim Care Unit at 93%).
Further improve our work with partners to protect those most vulnerable (no metric, information below).
Increase the timeliness of police investigation updates provided to victims
(Data being developed – indicators suggest no significant change from last year).
Commission and invest in specialist services to support victims throughout the criminal justice process (see below).

What we have done

Our focus on victim services remains paramount, with the victim care unit dealing with 55,105 referrals and supporting 39,889 people.
Our adult multi-crime support service, provided by Victim Support, received 2,105 referrals and our children and young people service, provided by Umbrella Cymru, received 228 referrals.
91% of people who came to the end of their support with Victim Support and 100% of children and young people who came to the end of their support with Umbrella Cymru were better able to cope and build resilience following support.
Victims Support received £274k as a contract agreement and Umbrella Cymru £83k as a grant.
We granted Age Cymru £20k and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board £31k funding to provide specialist victim services dealing with 90 referrals and supporting 93 people through the year between them.
New Pathways received £465k for independent sexual violence advisor
(ISVA) and counselling services, dealing with 1,327 referrals.
Cyfannol received £171k for ISVA and counselling services, dealing with
136 referrals.
Developed a MATAC (multi-agency tasking and co-ordination) team in Gwent Police to work with perpetrators of domestic abuse.
Used a victims needs assessment from Supporting Justice to support the re-commissioning of Connect Gwent services as well as provide wider recommendations for the OPCC in relation to victims needs in Gwent.
My office was instrumental in introducing the new Police Perpetrated Domestic Abuse service ‘Tabw’, in partnership with South Wales OPCC, which aims to provide an independent advocacy service to support victims.
Recommissioned Women’s Pathfinder WSA & 18–25 Early Intervention Service with partners.
Undertook significant efforts to recommission the independent sexual violence advisors (ISVA) service, through new contract arrangements that will go live in Summer 2024. The new contract arrangements, in partnership with South Wales and Dyfed-Powys OPCCs, will enable us to more closely monitor and shape the service in the interests of victim.
Held a week-long series of roadshows in Gwent communities to mark Hate Crime Awareness Week, with a focus on faith-based hate and engaging with more than 400 people during the week.
Led regionally on partnership work to highlight World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
Delivered a roadshow engaging with more than 900 residents and college students in the lead-up to White Ribbon Day, as well as leading communications on behalf of the regional VAWDASV team.
Worked with Gwent Police and partners to raise awareness of National Stalking and Harassment Week with young people at the University of South Wales Newport campus, Ebbw Vale Learning Zone and Torfaen Learning Zone.

Increase community confidence in policing

The public confidence survey results are not where I would like them to be but it is important that they are not considered in isolation. Gwent, and policing nationally, has had its share of challenges reported in the media, which can impact on this. However, I am pleased that Gwent is taking a proactive approach to identifying people who shouldn’t be working for the service, to send out a clear message on the standards expected of officers and staff. I am also really pleased that 999 and 101 performance has really turned a corner, and that Gwent Police have pushed themselves to try new ways of engaging with communities and now starting to use Facebook more in 2024/2025. We have also seen a modest rise in underreported crimes, such as hate crimes, and we are seeing a greater diversity of recruits coming into the service. Overall, there is much to be optimistic about going into next year, and I believe the confidence surveys will start to show improvements as a result of the actions being taken.

Key commitments
(comparison between 2022/23 and 2023/24)

Increase the effectiveness of officer and staff engagement with residents in their communities, and community confidence and trust in Gwent Police. (Confidence reduced to 62%)
Improve the accessibility of neighbourhood police teams through a variety of contact channels that meet the needs of the public. (No specific metrics, but social media engagement increased and 999/101 performance significantly improved)
Increase reporting of crime by communities that are less likely to engage with the police (hate crime reports remained stable, and slight increases in reports of honour based abuse, female genital mutilation and forced marriage)
Further increase officer and staff diversity to ensure our police service reflects the communities that we serve. (3.7% of officers and 2.1% of staff being from an ethnic minority background against 5.8% in the wider population of Gwent – however, the joining rate for officers was 6.4%)

What we have done

Developed a new Strategic Equality Plan, which will be released once the new PCC is in post and agrees to the proposed priorities.
Rolled out the Criminal Justice Wales anti-racism action plan across the OPCC and partners, which informs our Strategic Equality Plan priorities and activity over the next couple of years.
Supported Race Council Cymru’s Black History 365 project through funding, sponsorship a prize at the National Youth and Community Awards and attendance at events during the year.
Working with Cwmbran Centre for Young People (CCYP) as it ran a month of activities centred around Black history as part of Black History Month.
Sponsored the National Black Police Association conference to further support Gwent’s Black officers and police staff.
Awarded the Children and Young People's Participation Standards Charter for a second time, which recognises the OPCC’s continued commitment to ensuring the seven National Participation Standards are followed when working with children and young people.
Expanded Safe Spaces workshops to children at Gwent schools, with sessions at 18 schools, engaging more than 1,000 children.
Held sixth annual Youth Question Time event for young people.
Supported Coleg Gwent with engagement at a series of well-being days for students.
Ran workshops with Blaenau Gwent Children’s Grand Council to ensure that children and young people are able to have a say on the issues in their communities that matter most to them.
Joined Gwent Police and Newport Youth Justice Service for a ‘Crimes and Consequences ’workshop at Ysgol Gyfun Gwent Is Coed.
Held two walkabouts in Gwent communities and 24 general engagement sessions throughout the year.
Attended 30 summer events across Gwent throughout the summer, engaging with more than 7,000 people.
Held four out-of-court disposal scrutiny panels and providing feedback to Gwent Police where necessary, to help inform practice improvements across the service.
Held legitimacy scrutiny panels during the year that reviewed a dip sample of stop and search and use of force incidents through body worn video and Gwent Police data.
Received a Silver Award from the Independent Custody Visiting Association - an improvement from the ‘Code Compliant’ status that the office was given for its Independent Custody Visitor (ICV) scheme in the previous assessment period.
Recruited five new ICVs following a recruitment campaign over the summer.
ICV scheme:
o 44 visits conducted when 411 detainees were in custody, of which 278
accepted a visit.
o 77 minor issues raised with the Custody Sergeant addressed at the
time, with two addressed subsequently.
Animal welfare scheme:
o Eight visits conducted
o One minor issue raised with the Dog Section Sergeant addressed subsequently.
o Received a certificate of recognition from the Dogs Trust for another year.
Helped organise a community litter pick to support the national Big Help Out event.

Drive sustainable policing

I am proud that we finish the year with 1,506 police officers, 170 more police officer posts than when I was elected in 2016. The health and well-being of those police officers has also been a focus for Gwent Police, which is crucial if we want to retain experienced and dedicated officers. In terms of finance, there remains a funding shortfall of around £2.8m as a result of inflationary pressures and budgetary challenges. This will need to be found from either increasing council tax precept, or an improved funding settlement from the UK Government. The Chief Constable has committed to a significant programme of change to deliver service improvements and value for money. However, the reality is that making significant cuts, year-on-year, is not a sustainable solution for the future and we will continue to call on the UK Government to provide more financial support for policing.

Key commitments
(comparison between 2022/23 and 2023/24)

Ensure Gwent Police have the right number of officers, staff and volunteers in the right places (maintained officer establishment level at 1,506, increased staff by 28 and increased CSOs by ten)
Increase investment in and adopt 21st Century policing technology to meet tomorrow’s challenges today (no metrics).
Enhance health and well-being support for officers and staff to ensure our workforce is fit and ready to meet the challenges of policing (Sickness absences remained stable for police officers and reduced for police staff).
Reduce the environmental impact of policing in line with Welsh Government’s carbon neutral targets and the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (Data being developed in line with Welsh Government reporting requirements).

What we have done

Maintained Gwent Police’s establishment to 1,506 officers.
Agreed a budget for Gwent Police for 2024/25 of £173m (£8m more than
the previous year).
Set the council tax precept increase at 7.7 per cent.
Created a capital budget for 2024/25 of £19.7m.
Benchmarked costs via HMICFRS value for money profiles.
Received an assurance judgement from internal auditors that we have adequate and effective management, control and governance processes.
Received an assurance statement of ‘generally satisfactory’ from Torfaen County Borough Council for IT services provided by SRS.
Published my annual governance statement, which evidences the effectiveness of our governance.
Submitted planning application for Gwent Police Operational Facility project to finalise full costs and the design to be locked-down; however the project remains deferred due to affordability.
Creation of new fleet workshop in Llantarnam.
Enabled the remaining teams at old HQ to relocate to allow demolition work to start and continue throughout 2024.
Ensured successful construction of the new police base in Abergavenny to open in 24/25.
Delivered social value work in communities and schools as part of the Abergavenny project.
Held four strategy and performance board meetings to hold the Chief Constable to account.
Responded to 38 Freedom of Information and one Environmental Information Regulation requests - only 19 of these related to information held by the OPCC and 97% were replied to within 20 working days.
One data protection breach was reported but it did not need a referral to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Procedures have been amended to ensure the same issue does not occur in future.
43 subject access requests were received. None of these requests related to information held by the OPCC but were for information held by Gwent Police
Received 34 police complaint review requests.
Started a new scrutiny meeting with Gwent Police, to allow it to deep-dive thematics on a monthly basis.
Rolled out unconscious bias training for all OPCC and Gwent Police staff.
Worked with the three other Police and Crime Commissioners in Wales to appoint seven new legally-qualified chairs for police misconduct hearings.
Held 25 engagement sessions as part of the budget setting process, engaging with more than 1,500 residents.
Gave evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee on a range of policing issues and highlighted the need for capital funding from UK government.
Hosted a visit from the UK Government Policing Minister, Chris Philp MP and sought clarity on funding for Wales for initiatives such as the apprenticeship levy, mental health services, and UK Government’s Harm to Hope drug strategy.
Appointed as a non-executive director of the board of College of Policing.
Dip-sampled a selection of closed complaint files to check the quality of the investigations and fed back findings to Gwent Police’s professional standards department.
Arranged and hosted the annual Welsh Joint Audit Committee (JAC) training day, and held six JAC meetings during the year.
Reviewed and approved the JAC terms of reference.
Highlighted that Gwent Police was an outlier in recording ‘no further action’ outcomes, leading to prices changes by Gwent Police.
Ran a FOI data breach exercise that confirmed that no information has been released that should not have been.
Introduced a new monthly scrutiny meeting to enable my office to focus on areas of most concern of the public.

Strategic Policing Requirement

The Strategic Policing Requirement is a statutory duty on the Home Secretary to set out the national crime and terrorist threats and other civil emergencies that they perceive to be so serious as to require a cross-boundary policing response. The SPR contains some specific requirements on PCCs and as PCC for Gwent I take these requirements seriously. I am required to take account of the SPR in the development of my Police and Crime Plan; hold the Chief Constable to account for having the capabilities required to deliver an effective and proportionate response to those threats; and I am required to provide an assurance statement on these arrangements in my annual report.

In general, I gain assurance and oversight on the response to the identified threats by weaving the SPR priorities into my assurance and scrutiny processes, and from our wider partnerships. I am not complacent, and there is more work to be done both in Gwent and across Wales. In particular I have identified the need to establish some additional oversight and assurance mechanisms for the all-Wales collaborations that deliver some of our policing responses to the SPR.

Below, I outline the key threats and some of the various activities/established responses that me and my office have undertaken this year in relation to the SPR. Some aspects (eg violence against women and girls) has more detail in the wider report, which I won’t duplicate here.

Threat: Violence against women and girls
Work carried out: See above
Work underway/being introduced: See above

Threat: Terrorism
Work carried out:

Operational response: Welsh counter terrorism unit (WECTU), Local Special Branch.
The regional ACC provides a report to quarterly Strategy and Performance Board (SPB)
The OPCC receive quarterly updates on Terrorism through the Gwent CONTEST Board and pertinent local data at Community Safety Partnerships