Welsh forces identify fewer than half the SOC threats of other regions
The Southern Wales policing region has identified just 93 serious and organised crime threats, fewer than half the number recorded by the next lowest region in England and Wales, raising concerns about whether forces are missing significant criminal activity in their areas.
The stark finding emerges from a newly published inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, which examined how well the region’s three forces and its regional organised crime unit, Tarian, tackle serious and organised crime.
HMICFRS inspectors found that while the region is relatively small, the gap with comparable areas was too large to explain on that basis alone. The next lowest region had identified 219 SOC threats at the time of the inspection, more than double the Southern Wales figure.
The inspectorate flagged the disparity as an area for improvement, concluding that Tarian and its constituent forces, Dyfed-Powys, Gwent and South Wales, need to improve how SOC threats are identified and assessed.
Inspectors also found the region’s threat picture was heavily skewed towards drug supply, with 66 per cent of all recorded threats carrying drugs as the primary threat type. The proportion was highest in Gwent, where 88 per cent of recorded threats related to drugs — well above the national average of 51 per cent across England and Wales forces and ROCUs.
The narrow focus suggests forces may be under-recording threats in categories such as organised immigration crime, fraud, cybercrime and exploitation — all areas where Tarian itself has developed specialist capability.
Compounding the problem, the region had not yet established consistent processes for recording unmet demand which is defined nationally as threats that cannot be appropriately tackled due to a shortfall in capacity or capability. At the time of the inspection, a regional guide to support forces in recording unmet demand was still in development.
Tarian and regional forces were urged to work together to identify more diverse types of SOC and to ensure unmet demand is properly captured.
The findings sit alongside broadly positive ratings for two of the region’s four bodies. Tarian itself and South Wales Police were both rated good, while Dyfed-Powys and Gwent were rated adequate.