'I am very proud of the work we have done'

'I KNOW that talk of restructure of the police service is very unsettling, not only for the staff in the service but for the public, partners and communities that relate to the police service.

I am very proud of the work we have done here in Gwent and our move to deliver locally 'ward' based neighbourhood policing to all our communities.

"By the end of this month we will have staff based in every ward of the force area, who will strive to build strong links in those areas to tackle problems, in partnership with local communities and other agencies, and improve the quality of lives there.

"It is heartening to me and my staff to read of the public and elected representatives' support for the work we are currently undertaking. The Home Secretary has asked all forces and police authorities to look at our position following the Inspectorate's report which highlights the shortfall of capacity across the police service to deal with 'protective services' i.e. terrorist incidents, major disasters, serious and organised crime etc.

The Home Secretary favours larger 'strategic' forces that would have greater numbers and capacity to deal with protective services. The four forces in Wales have been working closely and collaboratively to provide joined-up solutions to these gaps with teams like our Operation Tarian which tackles regional crime in the three southern forces of Wales and our All Wales Resilience Forum which deals with potential emergencies and disasters.

We also have an all-Wales Collaboration Board which is already taking forward a list of opportunities to work together on a whole range of issues that would provide greater resilience, cost benefits and savings.

The four forces and police authorities have been asked to respond to the Home Secretary by the end of the year on the Inspectorate's paper. We will take on board the views of the public and look to respond on how we in Wales can best meet the gaps the inspectorate has highlighted, whilst at the same time keep and improve on locally delivered, accountable services.

You know I have been clear and passionate about delivering local neighbourhood policing in Gwent. We now are seeing more officers and PSCOs in our communities and we will continue to develop links and feedback with our public and get more involved at local level.

We do have to look at the regional and national threats and we have a real opportunity to influence the Home Secretary's thoughts by looking at how we respond to the threats and challenges Wales will face in the next 30 years and how we in Wales will protect the public from those threats. So I assure you we will look at the current position in Wales and evaluate the options carefully which will include how those challenges might be confronted within the four-force structure.

We all expect to receive some guidance and timescales from the Home Office later this week and the four forces and police authorities will meet to plan our response on behalf of Wales, which will require a great deal of joint work and consultation.

I will, of course, keep the South Wales Argus and its readers updated of our progress.