PLAID Cymru has promised to create a new £50 million crime prevention fund to recruit 1,600 extra police officers through the creation of a Welsh justice system and the devolution of policing.

But Labour has branded the pledge "disingenuous" and "a sideshow".

Announcing the policy, Plaid Cymru Parliamentary candidate for Dwyfor Meirionnydd Liz Saville Roberts said that this was part of the party's initiative to combat crime.

"Police budgets have been slashed by the Tories, putting far fewer officers on the street," she said. "Welsh forces have been hit harder than those in the rest of the UK, due to an unfair funding formula.

South Wales Argus:

(Liz Saville Roberts)

"To rectify the damage and underfunding wrought on our police forces by successive Tory Governments, Plaid Cymru will spend £50 million to recruit an extra 1,600 police officers – two for each community – to keep us safe. This would mean that our officers will be better rooted in our communities, instead of being stretched to cover large geographical areas with few resources."

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She added devolving policing would mean Welsh police forces were handed an extra £25 million, rather than relying on a funding formula.

"It is unacceptable that Wales is the only nation in the UK without powers over its policing and justice policies," she said.

South Wales Argus:

(Christine Rees)

However, Labour's Christina Rees, shadow Welsh secretary branded the pledge "as disingenuous as Boris Johnson’s promise to put fewer police back on our streets than the Tories have cut since 2010."

“Yet again Plaid Cymru are announcing policies they have no prospect of being able to implement," she added.

Anthony Slaughter, leader of Wales Green Party said that his party had similar ambitions.

South Wales Argus:

(Anthony Slaughter)

He said: “After years of cuts to police numbers there is an urgent need to recruit and train more police officers.

"Greens believe that this means a transformation of our justice system. We believe that we need to tackle the underlying causes of crime more effectively than current measures do.

"Greens would focus on the prevention of crime with community-based policing, alongside investment in education and employment.

“We would also integrate police forces more closely with the communities they serve by creating new community liaison and equality officers and by putting more police on the beat.”

The Brexit Party were unavailable to comment at this time. Saying only: "Our policy info in regards to this area (and many others) will follow shortly.”

The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats were unavailable for comment.