South Wales Police is the largest police force in Wales and although geographically small, covering around 800 square miles. South Wales Police provides a policing service to 1.3 million people (42% of the country’s population).
South Wales is a diverse region, boasting urban, rural and coastal areas and featuring the two largest cities in Wales – Swansea and the capital city, Cardiff. The force also serves 63 of the 100 most deprived communities in Wales.
The force has almost 3,000 police officers and over 2,200 police staff, including Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and a team of dedicated volunteers that includes over 200 Special Constables and around 200 Police Youth Volunteers.
The roles of uniformed officers who respond to calls and PCSOs that work out in the community are probably familiar to most people. But policing involves a wide range of different functions, many of which aren’t visible to the public but are nonetheless an essential part of how we police.
The Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan and Police and Crime Commissioner Alun Michael are responsible for setting the policing priorities for South Wales Police.
Their shared principles and values set the standard – to be the best at understanding and responding to the needs of all our communities. That means listening to them, protecting the vulnerable and improving victim satisfaction. The challenges ahead make us even more determined to stay focused on this vision, with a new emphasis on early intervention and prompt, positive action.
Our aim is to work with partners to ensure that people get the support they need, when they need it, and to prevent people from becoming either victims of crime or offenders. Early intervention is at the heart of building healthy, happy and safe communities, reducing demand on all our public services.
Our achievements to date have created a strong foundation on which to build but we acknowledge that we must always strive to improve our service and respond effectively to new demands.
To be the best at understanding and responding to our communities.
To be proud, professional and positive in everything we do.
