Subject:
Letter to the Clerk to the Police Authority from Residents of Old Colwyn
Dear Sir or Madam
A letter of which this is a true copy was delivered by hand for Mr Dent on 15th May 2006. We have still had no reply or even an acknowledgement of the letter.
It is unreasonable to fail to answer a letter.
I do not think that the questions asked are difficult or unreasonable in the circumstances.
Yours sincerely
David Curtis
Secretary
The Old Colwyn (East) Residents’ Association
15th May 2006
Kelvin Dent,
Clerk and Monitoring Officer
North Wales Police Authority
Glan-y-Don, Colwyn Bay.
LL29 8AW
Dear Mr Dent
The posting of front line police officers to control room duties.
As a formally constituted Residents’ Association, we wish to state our view of the decision reported in the Daily Post last week to move fully trained officers from the front line into the control room at St Asaph to cover a shortfall of police auxiliary staff.
It is apparent that the North Wales Police has difficulty with detail. We have known for a long time now that the Communications Department was to be relocated to St Asaph and now after the move, the public is told that there is insufficient trained staff to manage the job.
The Police Federation voices a view that the move was too quick and lacked consultation. Why is it always the front line officers that are taken away? There are other staff who are capable of manning the control room if it is a short term move. We are well aware that the term “front line officer” covers all manner of officers including no doubt schools liaison officers and the plethora of other posts that have come to the fore, for example, Wildlife Officer and Development Officers seconded to local authorities.
The matter was debated at our recent Residents’ Association meeting and the concern of residents is that Response Officers are being reduced because of the intention of the Force to attain a CBM in every ward and a CSO in every ward. The trained officers are moving to the CBM roles and the inexperienced officers are taking on the response role. This is at odds with the needs of the public who require an experienced officer at an incident to secure critical evidence to enable a conviction.
The Response Officers are becoming fewer and ever more pressured and the public is concerned not by the fact that calls have to be prioritised but by the police mantra that North Wales is a safe place to live and that there is a disproportionate Fear of Crime. Don’t the Police Authority realise that the lack of Response Officers adds to the Fear of Crime?
The concern spoken about at our meeting was that PCSOs are being taken on by the Police to manage the streets with fewer powers than Constables, whilst trained police officers are being taken away to man the control room and talk to people by phone because of an apparent lack of foresight and planning.
Please consider telling our association what section of the ‘front line’ the officers were drafted from and secondly the timescale foreseen as realistic before these officers are replaced by trained police auxiliary staff.
It is our view that it is unacceptable to take officers from the front line in this way. The police had full staffing of their three Divisional Control Rooms and should have thought well ahead to providing full staffing for the new operational centre before authorising the move. Why is that not the view of the police authority?
We are concerned by the personal statement attributed to the Chair of the Authority “We are ware of the situation and we are confident that this is the best way to proceed in terms of maintaining the integrity of our links with the public in the short term” It intimates to the public a lack of concern about this move. The Police Authority should look after the concerns of the public.
It does not sit well with a previous statement given, that the building was constructed to meet force requirements taking into account increased projected demand and future challenges facing the force and the public of North Wales.
Yours sincerely
David Curtis
Secretary
Reply from The Police Authority by email 18th August 2006
Dear Mr. Curtis
I refer to your enquiry regarding the call centre at Crud y Dderwen.
The Police Authority was aware of Police Officers being drafted to Crud y Dderwen. The Chairman’s response which you quoted indicates that the Authority was aware of the situation and was satisfied that the drafting in of Police Officers was necessary.
I have consulted the Force about your letter. At this particular time they were unable to recruit call operators as quickly as they would have wished. However, the Force have also reminded me that the Force control centre is itself front line policing with officers having to deal with critical incidents as the first line of contact. Police experience is vital within this environment and the Force will continue to employ both police officers and police staff within the call centre.
Kelvin Dent,
Clerk to the Police Authority
