With the look at the current strength and administration of the police (Part Va) and some of the issues facing the police at present (Part Vb) out of the way, it’s time to focus on what general policing options an independent Wales might have.
It’s right to point out that independence isn’t strictly necessary here as policing could simply be devolved – though the chances of that appear to be slim. Independence would provide a completely blank canvas, or not if we decide to keep things as close to how they are now as is possible (it’s up to us).
Under this model, Wales retains territorial police forces each with responsibility for policing their particular patch.
As currently, each force would be operationally led by a Chief Constable or equivalent rank (whether we keep Police & Crime Commissioners is another matter – more on that in Part VIII) and divided into local Basic Command Units/Divisions led by a Chief Superintendent or equivalent rank.
Each territorial police force would maintain its own headquarters, which may house human resources, training facilities, specialist forensic and computer science facilities – some of which may be shared between two or more forces.
The current police force headquarters are at Bridgend (South Wales), Cwmbran (Gwent, new HQ set to open in 2022), Carmarthen (Dyfed-Powys) and Colwyn Bay (North Wales).
Instead of merging police forces, designating one force as the “lead force” for higher-level criminal investigations or special services for the whole of Wales may be a convenient halfway house.
