: I think there's real
potential for a successful Welsh model, which can build on the
strength of devolution without cutting adrift of being part of
the United Kingdom. That's why I believe this should not include
the UK National Crime
Agency, national security and counter-terrorism. It is
important that police services continue to be able to provide
mutual support for large events, which we saw with the successful
NATO summit in south Wales.
Co-operation in policing clearly needs to extend not just to the
British Isles, but into Europe and beyond. We know that crime and
terrorism cross borders, more so now than ever before, and we
need to co-ordinate measures to make sure that criminals cannot
avoid charges by fleeing to Spain or other countries, which at
one time seemed to be the case. It's why the Costa del Sol got
called the 'Costa del Crime'.
The Welsh Government has shown the capacity for leadership and
common sense, implementing policies developed by Welsh Labour,
such as the investment in additional community support officers.
How many people would like to stop those community support
officers now? In Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, the
powers of the police and crime commissioner have been merged in
the mayoral role. I wait with interest to discover why people
believe that Manchester and West Yorkshire should have policing
devolved and Wales should not. Policing has been devolved in
Scotland and Northern Ireland; Wales is the outlier, very much
the outlier.
I want to look at two exceptions, the UK National Crime
Agency and national security. I believe they do need to
be dealt with centrally, because national security knows no
borders either, so I think it's important that we deal with
things where they are dealt with best, and I believe that most
policing is dealt with best in Wales.
The National Crime
Agency is a crime-fighting agency with national and
international reach, and the mandate of power to work in
partnership with other law enforcement organisations, bringing
the full weight of the law to bear in cutting serious and
organised crime. The border policing command is a vital part of
the approach to increasing border security. The economic crime
command places the National Crime
Agency at the forefront of the fight against economic
crime affecting the UK...
...What do the Welsh public think? A survey carried out by
Beaufort Research and the Silk Commission on Devolution in Wales
found that 63 per cent of the 2,000 responders polled were in
favour of policing powers for Wales being devolved from central
Government in England. I believe that the way forward is to
devolve most policing to the National Assembly. I will say this
now: I hope that we're not going to have the Conservatives
saying, 'We don't want to devolve the National Crime
Agency and national security.' I don't either; it's the
normal, everyday policing that I want devolved. Just remember
that, up until 1960, the large cities of Britain policed
themselves without anyone outside the Home Office having any
concerns. We should get back the right to police ourselves and
hand local policing to the Welsh Government...
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