There was someone speaking on radio Wales yesterday saying that all of Wales would have all Labour police commissioners after the election.

like you Russell I don't think any police commissioner should come from a political background, they will be lean towards in our case the Labour Party so any wrongdoing by them will go unnoticed I expect.

Will the police authority keep the police committees?
South Wales when trial judge is informed police evidence has been destroyed a trial collapses ex police officers acquitted and then it turns out the the evidence was there all the time.

Will things change in South Wales with police commissioners we will have to Waite and see

South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner will have a basic salary of £85,000 candidate information will be available from October 26th

It will be just like the Welsh Assembly more red tape and lots of people pushing meaningless papers around wasting millions that would be better spent on the people of Wales

http://www.southwalespoliceauthority.org.uk/en/content/cms/police_commis...

http://www.choosemypcc.org.uk

I expect it will be a low turnout most people around South Wales have a couldn’t care less attitude when it comes to elections.

Who will be the next police commissioner for South Wales?

Michael Baker - Independent

Caroline Jones - Conservative

Alun Michael - Labour

Tony Verderame - Independent

Find out more about each of these candidates below. Candidates are still able to withdraw.

MICHAEL BAKER - Independent

Michael Baker Michael Baker is a former police officer who later trained to become a lawyer

Michael Baker is a qualified lawyer who practices both criminal and civil law throughout south Wales.

He previously served as a police officer for 30 years, during which he was involved in community groups in both Cardiff and Rhondda.

Mr Baker's priorities if elected include ensuring that people feel that the police are listening to their concerns and that local communities' concerns drive the commissioner's office rather than politician's needs.

He says he would find a way for members of the public to be involved directly with the work of the commissioner, and to work to restore respect for the police.

CAROLINE JONES - Conservative

Caroline Jones Caroline Jones has worked in the prison service as well as being in business

Caroline Jones from Margam has worked in teaching, local government and the prison service as well as being self-employed.

She has stood as a parliamentary and assembly candidate.

She said: "I am passionate about reducing crime in local areas and making the community a safer place to live."

Ms Jones lists her priorities if elected as placing emphasis on rehabilitation for the perpetrator and avid support for the victims. She also said the police have been tied with "much red tape and bureaucracy allowing them little time to combat crime or be visible on the street".

ALUN MICHAEL - Labour

Alun Michael Alun Michael is a former deputy home secretary

Alun Michael is a former secretary of state for Wales and was the Welsh assembly's first leader. He is standing down as MP for Cardiff South, a role he has held since 1987, to be part of the PCC elections.

He was deputy home secretary in 1997, with special responsibility for criminal justice, the police and voluntary sector.

He says his priority as commissioner would be to make sure that South Wales Police focuses its resources on making communities safe and free from crime, and ensuring police are accountable to local people.

He would also make it easier for every member of the public to communicate with and work with the police.

TONY VERDERAME - Independent

Tony Verderame Tony Verderame believes the role of commissioner free from political bias

Tony Verderame is a retired businessman who has lived in Cardiff for over 40 years.

Mr Verderame is currently chair of the Cardiff Older Persons Forum and is also chair of the South Wales Forum chair network. He received the Queen's Award in 2006 for work with elderly and vulnerable people.

If elected, he would spend time in the community to find out what people feel are the priorities for their area, and would focus on doorstep crime and domestic violence.

He also believes the role of commissioner should be independent and free from political bias.

http://bbc.in/PCRW6o

There use to be a police station in every town, but like everything thing else these day we are forced to take retrospective steps.

The problems we face today are solely down to bad housekeeping on the part of government. Government is there to govern and should never have run up so much debt, and never ever allowed the banks to have a free hand. Notwithstanding that governmnet is so wasteful with your tax money

My grandparents had it hard, we dont even know how to begin to appreciate just how hard. But granddad would always say, "never a borrower nor a lender be" and if you cant afford something save up until you can. He was a miner on poor wages all his life, yet he brought up three daughters and a son and when he died he provide for Gran for the rest of her life and owned his own house. Gran survived Granddad by 25 years. Yet if Granddad has conducted his affairs like the government does he would have gone broke at the time of the General Strike.

So where does your money go. Well look here for a start.

THE BUMPER BOOK OF GOVERNMENT WASTE BROWN'S SQUANDERED BILLIONS

Publisher: Harriman House Publishing; 2nd Rev Ed edition (5 Oct 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1905641486
ISBN-13: 978-1905641482

And here: Fleeced!: How we've been betrayed by the politicians, bureaucrats and bankers - and how much they've cost us.

Publisher: Constable (14 Sep 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1849012865
ISBN-13: 978-1849012867

THEN LOOK AT WHAT GOVERNMENT THROWS AWAY IN FOREIGN AID PACKAGES----often to out enemies. Squanders in futile unwinable wars....and pays into the deep pit of the EU coffers.

That should being to give you an idea of why the whole country's infrastructure is on the point of collapse!.

And if I am reading it right things are going to get a hell of a lot worse before they get better. We already have Food Banks in the UK and we never had those in the days of the General Strike. Soap kitchens yes, but then everyone knew that they were only a temporary measure.

Things have to change for the better and fast before we all lose that important sense of purpose and being!

Looks like anything goes in order to appease Brussels...more expense while unemployment poverty in the valleys remains rampant!

I for one will not be voting in this rubber stamped election,the police commissioners are already known as in so many places Labour get the vote, and as for Alun Micheal he could not make it as the first minister in the Assembly so how is this idiot going to make it as a police commissioner, but there the money is much better than the assembly isn't it.

More likely to see a plastic policeman(CSO)on patrol

Double whammy for RCT residents with 7% Police tax rise

I wonder how many of the (comparatively few) people who voted for Alun Michael to become the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales police anticipated that one of his first acts would be to increase the Police precept by a whacking 7%. This at a time when his Labour colleagues never tire of telling us how much people are suffering because of the recession and how their party is allegedly protecting the people of Wales from the worst of it.
As usual they would like to have everyone believe it is the fault of the UK coalition Government, and the well worn line about 'draconian cuts' is yet again dragged out. Yet the concerns over funding of South wales Police are far from new.
In February 2010 - when Labour were in Government at Westminster let us not forget - the precept was increased by 5%. At the time Chairman of the Authority, and leader of RCT Council Russell Roberts, said: "Setting the budget is made even more difficult this year as we have had to balance the operational needs of the force against the financial worries faced by the public in South Wales."
Chief Constable Peter Vaughan was reported as saying that' Government cutbacks next year could push South Wales Police "off the edge of the financial precipice".' That of course referred to planned cut backs by the then Labour UK Government.
Asking for the extra 7% Alun Michael said "I was shocked to find how far we have been disadvantaged compared to other forces, and to discover how far the money raised locally from the police precept for South Wales Police has fallen short compared to the other Welsh police forces."
This is unbelievable. Until he resigned to stand for election as Commissioner he had been MP for Cardiff South for 25 years, and served in the Home Office - not to mention his brief spell as First Secretary for Wales. He obviously hasn't been paying a great deal of attention.
Still he is not alone in this hypocritical stance. His associates in Rhondda Cynon Taff are planning on raising the Council Tax by 3.95%. They too blame Westminster, despite the fact that Local Government is devolved and the Welsh Government sets their budget. They too forget the criticism they levelled at Ministers in the Bay prior to the 2009 and 2010 budgets.
Hopefully the electorate have better memories.
Karen Roberts
Campaign Manager RCT Welsh Liberal Democrats

In the next decade people will be saying ''do you remember the Liberal Democrates?'' Or are the Welsh Lib/Dems trying to distance themselves from the Westminster poodles. How about a Labour Plaid Cymru government in 2015?

I must admit that the rubber stamping, sorry I mean election, for the police commissioner, was the first election of any kind that I could not be bothered with since 1972.

PROPOSED DEPUTY AND ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS ANNOUNCED

Police and Crime Commissioner for South Wales, Alun Michael, has announced the appointment of Sophie Howe as Deputy Commissioner and Dave Francis as Assistant Commissioner.

Mr Michael, said: “These two appointments complete my top leadership team to help take work forward. Both Sophie and Dave provide a breadth of experience and knowledge which will assist both myself and Chief Constable Peter Vaughan in taking forward our priorities and to tackle the issues that matter to our communities.

“I am grateful for the assistance of Chief Constable Peter Vaughan and Chief Executive of Bridgend County Borough Council in helping to select the successful applicants by providing an objective and independent view of the applications and ensuring that the process was fair and open.”

Sophie Howe, from Whitchurch, Cardiff, will bring in-depth knowledge and experience of local government and Welsh government, as well as her experience in equality. In 1999, at the age of 21, Mrs Howe was elected as the youngest Councillor in Wales, rising to the position of Deputy Leader of the opposition for the Labour Party in Cardiff. She has worked as a political adviser for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and more recently has been a Special Advisor to the Welsh Government with responsibility for communities, local government, community safety, housing and regeneration.

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner, Sophie Howe, said: “I am very excited about the prospect of working with Alun, Dave and the Chief Officers of South Wales Police to help deliver the priorities for our communities.

“Having been involved in developing the Welsh Government’s policy and legislative proposals for the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and Domestic Abuse Bill, I am keen to get to work with partners from across South Wales to tackle this important and largely invisible issue. We need to work together to overcome this problem, at the same time of tackling other issues such as online crime and child abuse and reducing overall crime.”

Joining Mr Michael’s team, as Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner, is former Deputy Chief Constable of South Wales Police, Dave Francis. Having worked in South Wales Police for over 30 years, Mr Francis became Chair of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board at its inception in 2009, and held the position until retiring in March 2012. Prior to this, he was Chair of the Cwm Taf NHS Trust and Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust.

Speaking of his appointment, Mr Francis said: “Whilst the prospect of being part of the Commissioner’s team, working with the Chief Constable to improve the quality of life for people in South Wales, is exciting, equally important for me are the vision and values held by Alun Michael.

“Having been involved at the highest levels of two of the largest, high profile public bodies in South Wales, I feel I can bring a lot of experience to this role, and assist in Alun’s long term vision for crime reduction and prevention.”

The appointments were made following public advert. The appointments will be presented to the Police and Crime Panel on 15 February 2013 for confirmation.