Jane Mudd responds to Gwent Police inspection report

South Wales Argus

6 hours ago

Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Mudd, who was elected to the post last year, said the report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service, has recognised improvements since the force's last inspection in 2021/22.
The inspector's latest report, covering the period 2023 to 2025, found Gwent Police needs to improve how it investigates crime and protects vulnerable people.
It has also laid out pressures on the service with police sergeants having high case loads of ongoing investigations, leads in criminal inquiries being missed and PCSOs being sent to deal with incidents they aren't trained for.
Ms Mudd said she was also confident Chief Constable Mark Hobrough's reforms, implemented from January after he took over last December, to move away from a local area approach to a leadership model based on the police's functions will prove successful.
The inspectors said it is too early to judge the outcomes of the reform but also said the force leadership needs to improve how it communicates those changes to officers.
Ms Mudd said: 'As the report points out, Gwent Police's senior leadership team has changed substantially over the last year. I appointed Chief Constable Hobrough in December 2024 and he has implemented a new operating model for Gwent Police which I am confident is driving improvements across the force.
'I am seeing positive progress made against the priorities in my Police, Crime and Justice Plan, and a greater emphasis on putting victims first, which I know is incredibly important for our residents.
'To ensure continued improvement I have increased and strengthened the scrutiny work that my office and I undertake. This is driving greater accountability, improved transparency and provides me with continued assurance and confidence that Gwent Police is improving its response to the issues that matter most to our residents.'
The report stated Gwent Police's external scrutiny panels for stop and search and use of force, run in partnership with the commissioner's office, hadn't met often enough and there was no clear plan to increase frequency of meetings. It was also noted the panel isn't mentioned on the force website.
Panels include representatives of the commissioner's office, senior Gwent police leaders, independent advisory group members and partner agencies, such as the Youth Offending Service, but inspectors said meetings don't include any lay members of the public or those with 'lived experience of being searched or of having force used upon them, such as young people'.
Chief Constable Hobrough said the force has, over the past six months, put in place steps to address the areas highlighted as requiring improvement in the report which isn't directly comparable to the 2021//22 publication due to changes in performance measures.