Councillor furious at Vale policing

Alt Cardiff Profile: Alun Michael

Alun Michael.

Alun Michael was recently named the South Wales Police and Crime commissioner last month after winning the first ever election which famously saw a zero percent turnout to the polls in one Newport polling station.

Alun Michael is a former secretary of state for Wales and was the Welsh Assembly’s first leader. He stood down as MP for Cardiff South, a role he has held since 1987, to enter the election for his newest role that includes control of the force’s £250 million annual budget, deciding policing priorities and having the power to hire and fire the chief constable.

His priority as commissioner, according to his manifesto, is to make sure that South Wales Police focuses its resources on making communities safe and free from crime, and ensuring police are accountable to local people.

He also aims to make it easier for every member of the public to communicate and work with the police.

Mr Michael won the election with 72, 751 votes in the second round (54.4% of the vote) after 142,434 were counted in the South Wales area. The overall national turnout of 18.5% is the smallest percentage in peacetime voting history.

A Llantwit Major Councillor has criticised the slow reaction time of police response officers in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Penarth Police Station which according to the Llantwit councilor is too far away from rural areas of the Vale.

Gwyn John, a member of the Vale Council cabinet, made the comments following a recent string of burglaries in the Llantwit area, directing his primary criticisms at how police response officers in the rural area have to report to Penarth police station.

Mr John stated, “Police response officers should be based in the rural Vale itself. I’m furious that they are based in Penarth, which is at least a half an hour drive away.”

The newly elected Police and Crime commissioner for South Wales, Alun Michael, described the remarks as, “puzzling” and stated he needed to gather all of the information available before issuing a formal response.