More about this area

North Wales is one of the safest places in the United Kingdom. It is mainly rural with areas of outstanding natural beauty attracting a high number of visitors, such as the Snowdonia National Park. The area is covered by six local authorities and overseen on devolved matters by the Welsh Government. The Welsh language is an important part of our culture which is reflected in our workforce and working practices.

The population of 691,991 is focused around Wrexham, Deeside and along the coastal strip including towns such as Rhyl, Llandudno and Bangor. Two universities in Wrexham and Bangor house a vibrant student population of around 17,500 during the academic year. The area is linked to the motorway infrastructure of England by the A55 Expressway which feeds the port of Holyhead, the second busiest in the UK.

This diverse mix poses a variety of policing challenges from organised crime groups and cross-border criminality to the prevention and investigation of rural and wildlife crime. In 2023/24 the force dealt with 355,882 calls of which 202,965 were incidents. The force recorded 55,626 crimes for the same period.

Policing in North Wales is delivered by 1714 police officers supported by PCSOs, special constables, volunteers and police staff. North Wales Police continues its development of Right Care, Right Person by working with partner agencies to ensure the best service is provided to vulnerable people in our communities. In the latest Crime Survey of England and Wales, we are ranked first nationally for understanding local concerns, second nationally for dealing with local concerns, and fourth for overall confidence in the police.

The force has invested in technology to tackle increasing demand, for example Digital Evidence Management, personal issued body-worn video and hand-held devices that are being developed with increasing functionality for the use of operational officers.

The effect of the reduced funding available and inflationary and other pressures has resulted in saving having to be identified year on year over a 14-year time span. £45m of savings have been made to budgets since 2010-11. North Wales Police has an excellent record of delivering planned savings, with a strategy of fully scrutinising planned savings prior to the year of delivery. Even during Uplift, the force has continued to strive for cashable savings so that it can minimise the impact on the local taxpayer and invest in the areas that maintain its efficiency and effectiveness into the future.

North Wales is one of the safest places in the United Kingdom. It is mainly rural with areas of outstanding natural beauty attracting a high number of visitors, such as the Snowdonia National Park. The area is covered by six local authorities and overseen on devolved matters by the Welsh Government. The Welsh language is an important part of our culture which is reflected in our workforce and working practices.

The population of 687000 is focused around Wrexham, Deeside and along the coastal strip including towns such as Rhyl, Llandudno and Bangor. Two universities in Wrexham and Bangor house a vibrant student population of around 25,000 during the academic year. The area is linked to the motorway infrastructure of England by the A55 Expressway which feeds the port of Holyhead, the second busiest in the UK.

This diverse mix poses a variety of policing challenges from organised crime groups and cross-border criminality to the prevention and investigation of rural and wildlife crime. In 2021/22 the force dealt with 324,354 calls of which 186,301 were incidents. The force recorded 67,807 crimes for the same period.

Policing in North Wales is delivered by 1653 police officers supported by PCSOs, special constables, volunteers and police staff. North Wales Police has invested in North Wales Community Alert which is a two-way community messaging system that allows officers to give up to date information about crime, engagement events, appeals, prevention advice and general policing activity in the local area. It also invites users to share information on their concerns and priorities. The force has also introduced a Digital Desk within the Force Control Room to improve accessibility.

The force has invested in technology to tackle increasing demand, including Digital Evidence Management, personal issued body-worn video and hand-held devices. More recently, the force has invested in a fully equipped Digital Forensics Unit (DFU) vehicle, enabling the DFU team to examine a range of devices at the earliest opportunity at any location for those serious crimes requiring urgent securing of evidence.

The Government’s Austerity Programme which began in 2011, has resulted in substantial cuts across policing. The overall effect of the reduced funding available, inflation and other pressures has resulted in £38.291m of savings being made to budgets over an 11-year period. This is equivalent to a 25.8% reduction in the 2010-11 pre-austerity budgets. North Wales Police has a good record of delivering savings and despite evolving complex crimes and reduced funding, performs well in maximising the outcomes from available resources.