The Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner has defended police numbers but confirmed work is underway to take an in-depth look at resources across the force area.

Dafydd Llywelyn was responding to a member of the public at this week’s meeting of the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel, who asked if he had plans to appoint additional police officers following an increased precept for police in the recent Council Tax setting.

Mr Llywelyn said police funding should not necessarily equate to police numbers, pointing out that there are more police officers and staff employed in Dyfed-Powys now, than when he took over as Commissioner in 2016.

He was also keen to point out that the Dyfed-Powys precept remained the lowest in Wales - the average Band D property contributes around £250 a year to policing currently, collected as part of Council Tax.

“The Chief Constable has more resources at his disposal now since when I came in to the force,” he said.

“I’m really pleased to state that Dyfed-Powys police has not suffered the level of cuts that have been seen nationally.

“Since 2009-19, the average number of police officers has been 1145 - it stood at 1186 in 2009-10, prior to austerity, and was at its lowest in 2012-13, at 1103.

“The most recent figures for 2018-19 show that there are currently 1135 officers.

“But it isn’t all about police officer numbers – there were 1859 police officers and staff when I took over and there are 1930 now. Staff have a very important role in terms of digital policing and dealing with cyber enabled crime, and as investigators and analysts – it’s not just warranted officers.

“We also have 148 PCSOs forming part of the wider neighbourhood policing teams.

"A special grant from Welsh Government equates to half of the cost. The ratio at present is one PCSO to 10 warranted officers.”

Mr Llywelyn explained that a large proportion of this year’s precepts was to help the force take on the unexpected burden of pension contributions, passed on by the Treasury, adding a £4.2million bill to the force budget.

He, and his Chief Constable Mark Collins, explained particular issues around recruitment in the north of the force area, saying that a large piece of work is underway to look at demand and resources.

CC Collins said: “There are problems in north Powys. We have asked for volunteers to relocate, and have offered incentives. But there are five new recruits and a recruitment campaign is about to launch.

“An agile workforce and being able to flex our resources is what we are working towards. “We’re doing a complex piece of demand work to ensure we have the right resources, but I will point out that we are very healthy in terms of our response times and are still the safest place in England and Wales.”

The Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel is made up of representatives from the four counties of the force area.

It is the Panel’s duty to hold Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn to account.

The Panel meets at least four times a year, and can put questions to the Commissioner on behalf of members of the public.

For more information about the Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Panel, including its membership, forthcoming meeting dates, agendas and webcasting links, and asking a question, visit dppoliceandcrimepanel.wales