The Old Colwyn (East) Residents’ Association
Website www.oldcolwyneast.co.uk
13th January 2007
Richard Brunstrom QPM
Chief Constable
North Wales Police Headquarters
Glan-y-Don, Colwyn Bay.
LL29 8AW
Dear Chief Constable Brunstrom
Concern over the posting of CBM K. Parmley to control room duties.
The Old Colwyn East Residents’ Association was told at its meeting on 10th January, that CBM Katherine Parmley is being moved from Old Colwyn to the Control Room in St Asaph as from the end of January.
CBM Katherine Parmley has been in Old Colwyn for two years of a voluntary 3 year contract and is a very valued and experienced officer. Her presence in Colwyn is very necessary to the good order of the area.
The residents have asked me to express our deep disappointment over your decision to redeploy her and ask that you reconsider and reverse the decision.
As a formally constituted Residents’ Association, on the 15th May 2006, we wrote to the Police Authority to comment unfavourably on the decision to move fully trained officers from the front line into the control room at St Asaph, to cover a shortfall of police support staff.
At that time, the public was being told that there was insufficient trained police support staff to manage the Control Room. The Police Federation voiced their view that the move was too quick and lacked consultation. We asked why it is always the front line officers that are taken away.
Now we know of the massive voluntary severances taking place from the police support staff in the control room and elsewhere, with totally worrying levels of trained and experienced persons being invited to and allowed to leave the service.
You are now covering the shortfall by calling in a further 24 experienced police officers to answer the telephones from the end of January. We are aware from your previous reply that ACPO sees the appointment to Control Room as a career move for police officers and that such a posting is now designated as front line policing.
You need to have some police officers with support staff in the Control room. To invite large numbers of support staff to leave the service whilst planning to replace them with CBMs and Response Officers with over five years experience, when they are so thin on the ground is nothing short of irresponsible in our opinion. The police force is gambling with the wellbeing and safety of our communities. It is apparent that you are balancing the books because of alleged under -funding by the Government but all you are really doing is robbing Peter to pay Paul.
The North Wales Police will still claim that they have unprecedented levels of officers on the front line where in reality a large number will be sitting behind desks in a control room and other offices, sending an ever shrinking minority to deal with only the most serious of offences.
The worrying part is that you are being applauded for your actions by Peter Hain and Tony McNulty. Their favourable comments are easy to make at the opening ceremony of such a command centre but they may not be in possession of all the facts.
The Chief Constable has applauded the citizens of Old Colwyn for making a difference to their area, saying that the police are doing their part and then sweeping changes take away a much needed CBM, who has only completed two years of her three year contract.
Also we are hearing now, as a result of an independent survey that a large percentage of people are happy to pay more for local policing. We have already paid extra in previous precepts for local policing and now an officer is being taken away. Our Residents’ Association is in its fourth year and we have had three changes of CBM, none of whom completed a contract of three years as promised.
We have worked hard in partnership with our local officers whom we respect and support and now this decision to redeploy Katherine is not helping the partnership. You are removing eight CBM / Response officers from each of the three divisions. That will impact greatly on the ability of the police to respond.
I close by expressing again the deep disappointment of our members when told that we are to lose CBM Katherine Parmley and ask that you reconsider and reverse this decision. We hold the collective view that such a move will be detrimental to the good order of our community.
Yours sincerely
David Curtis
Secretary
