The speaker for the January meeting was Christopher Salmon, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed-Powys.

Christopher Salmon Dyfed-Powys Police & Crime Commissioner
In November 2012 we were invited to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner for Dyfed-Powys; so interested was the electorate the turnout was a mere 15%. However, Chris Salmon was duly elected.
Chris arrived promptly at 11am a much younger man, I believe, than some of us had anticipated but he proved to be an excellent and articulate speaker initially outlining his responsibilities as Commissioner.
Coming from a rural background he attended Oxford University studying history and economics thereafter spending five years as an army officer seeing duty in Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Iraq. Having stood and failed as a Conservative candidate for Llanelli Chris recognised his future lay in some kind of public service and when the post of Commissioner was created he canvassed diligently for the post; as some of our members were quick to point out, parts of the County were awash with blue boards!

Christopher Salmon with some members of the Pembrokeshire U3A
A lively question and answer session followed his interesting and thought provoking talk, three questions at a time were taken from various areas of the floor the questions were dealt with clearly and concisely a man who clearly knows his job and what the inhabitants of Dyfed-Powys require of their police force. With elections for the post of Police and Crime Commissioner taking place in May of this year it was plain Christopher Salmon was keen to make an impression and I believe he did.
Penny Thomas
7th January 2016
These links may be of interest:
Notes (Provided by Andy Pearson – Public Affairs Advisor – Dyfed-Powys Police & Crime Commissioner’s Office)
Election, May 2016 On May 5, 2016, England and Wales will hold their second elections for Police and Crime Commissioners. In Dyfed-Powys this will mean the public having a direct say in who controls a policing budget of around £96m, sets the priorities for policing, holds the police force to account and manages a police estate of more than 50 buildings.
What is a Police and Crime Commissioner? PCCs are not the police – as the elected voice of the public, they make the police answerable to the communities they serve. They work in partnership across a range of agencies to ensure a unified approach to preventing and reducing crime. The next PCC elections are in May 2016.
What can they do? PCCs aim to cut crime, deliver an effective and efficient police service, provide stronger and more transparent accountability of the police, hold chief constables and the force to account, ensure community needs are met as effectively as possible and improve local relationships. Day-to-day policing operations are directed by chief constables.
Who is the Dyfed-Powys PCC? Christopher Salmon. Born in 1978, he was brought up in Powys. He graduated from Oxford University before spending five years as an Army officer. After several years in business he was elected PCC for Dyfed-Powys in November 2012. He lives in Llandeilo, Carms, and enjoys sport, travel, art and literature.
What are his priorities? Christopher Salmon’s six priorities for Dyfed-Powys are detailed in his 2013-18 Police and Crime Plan. They are: Preventing and tackling crime; Protecting vulnerable people; Bringing people to justice; Enhancing access to police services; Ensuring high standards of professionalism; Spending wisely.
What has he achieved (Nov 2012 – January 2016)? Key achievements included: 30 more Dyfed-Powys Police officers; Improved access to the police; Fewer police cautions; Reduced policing costs; Community grants of almost £250,000; Closer focus on policing’s quality of service; New partnership to tackle antisocial behaviour; Four new independent domestic violence posts; 20% reduction in police force’s top 10 salaries; a 5% decrease in council tax precept for 2015-16; New single point of contact to report concerns or dissatisfaction with OPCC and DPP; new service for missing young people; 100,000 more police officer hours in the beat thanks to new IT; New mental health incident unit; Dyfed-Powys CCTV guidance;.
What does he plan? Two new rural rape crisis centres; £8.8m saved from 2013-16; improved use of data to identify issues earlier; better use of police buildings with £15m estate strategy.