‘New police powers to tackle Coronavirus must be matched by resources’ says Police and Crime Commissioner

NEW powers that are expected to be awarded to police forces throughout the UK must be matched alongside more resources a Police and Crime Commissioner has said.

Plaid Cymru Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed Powys Police Dafydd Llywelyn welcomed the expected legislation that would provide police forces with powers “necessary to responsibly deal” with the Coronavirus and said the police were ready to do “all in our power” to protect communities.

However, Mr Llywelyn added that “any new powers” awarded to police forces should be given alongside “more resources”.

The Police and Crime Commissioner said councils and health boards in Wales who were “already struggling” after austerity would now be expected to co-ordinate the frontline response to the virus. He said this expectation should match “additional resources” to make sure they could cope.

Mr Llywelyn added that councils, health boards and the police forces should all be “working together and sharing our resources” and had “a duty of care” to the people of Wales.

Dafydd Llywelyn, Plaid Cymru Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed Powys Police said,

“I welcome the imminent legislation that will provide police forces with new powers necessary to responsibly deal with any potential outbreak of Covid-19. And as police forces we stand ready to do all in our power to protect our communities.

“However, any new powers given to police forces must be given alongside more resources to ensure we are in a strong position to deal with this.

“Local authorities and health boards in Wales – who are already struggling after a decade of cuts but will now have the responsibility of co-ordinating the frontline response to the virus in Wales, must be awarded additional resources to make sure they can cope.

“Councils, the NHS, and the police forces – we’ve all got to be working together and sharing our resources. We all have a duty of care to the people of Wales to keep them safe and ensure that any other new outbreaks are also quickly identified and isolated.