Security and public safety

Congratulations to the South Wales Police Heddlu De Cymru for doing such a brilliant job throughout the UEFA Cup Final weekend!  Two thousand police officers worked on what Sky News claims was the biggest security operation in Wales since the NATO meeting in 2014.

The atmosphere in central Cardiff was fun. One hundred and 70,000 football fans poured through the city centre and there was no hint of trouble.  And down at the 4 day Festival in the Bay, the crowds milled round the festival stands and queued up to join in the activities at different stalls along Marina Quay.

The weather helped of course -though at times the big silver replica UEFA Cup swayed in the freshening southwesterly breeze!  But the real heroes of the weekend, to my mind, were the security services and the police.

The security operation was enormous.  I had some qualms, watching it all being set up in the days before the event:  huge black barriers across the routes in the Bay (some of our favourite cycling tracks!), the city centre roads closed completely for 4 days – and even the run down the River Taff  was barred at the Railway Bridge!  All our bags were searched as we walked our bikes through the Festival – and those without bags were frisked – but the whole thing was done quickly and effectively- and with plenty of smiles and laughs.  Grace and professionalism characterised the whole security operation.  Far from being intimidating,  their behaviour and presence only enhanced  the atmosphere.

We are so lucky to be able to say this, on the rainy Monday morning after the event.  In the wake of the terrible events in London that same weekend, coming so quickly after the Manchester Arena and Westminster Bridge attacks, the story could have been so different.  My heart goes out to all the different individuals affected by those tragedies, and to their families and friends, whose lives will never be the same again.

Thanks to the efforts of the Army, the South Wales Police and the countless numbers of volunteer Ambassadors and helpers throughout the weekend their were no adverse incidents, beside a few ticket touts being arrested.

Our police need our support.  It is not enough to say ‘Enough is Enough’ Mrs May.  We need to pay our police adequately for the huge risks they take on our behalf, risks which are increasing every day. Yet under this government, since 2010, and especially under Theresa May as Home Secretary during that period, our police forces have faced more opprobrium than praise.

Over a year ago, in July 2016, the press were reporting that our police forces were being cut.  The BBC reported that we had 20,000 fewer police officers in 2016 than in 2009: a fall of 14%.  The Police Federation noted that its budget had fallen 18% in the same period.  And at the same time the numbers of police officers on long term sick leave have increased during this same period. I recently met a police officer who told me that his colleagues were leaving the force in droves, through early retirement or for other jobs, because they were so stressed by their growing workloads and the expectations on them.  This is a vicious circle which demoralises remaining staff and makes it increasingly difficult for them to keep working effectively.

Of course, changing times need changes in work methods.  According to the Police Federation the 6% drop in crime during this period shows that the police have indeed been able to do more with less.  But we also know that as the nature of crime changes towards more insidious forms, such as the kinds of smaller scale but deadly incidents we are now seeing in the UK, and towards cybercrime, then it is likely that we are going to need more individualised responses from our police and security services.  To my mind, that implies needing more officers on the ground, not less.

I don’t think our police or security services are safe in Mrs May’s hands.  If you don’t either, Vote on Thursday! And vote for some one else!  Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party is pledging to add 10,000 new police officers, I’m good with that.