Chief Constable of North Wales Police in Bangor Public Lecture

The Chief Constable of North Wales Police, Mark Polin, came to Bangor to discuss ‘Policing – Today and for Tomorrow. In the well-received lecture, attended by students and staff from across the University, the Chief Constable outlined recent changes in police governance, priorities, and demand as well as the challenges facing North Wales Police in the future.

Mr Polin noted a shift from a target driven culture of policing to one that places emphasis on procedurally just and consensual policing. This included a focus on the vulnerability of those the police come into contact with and the increasing complexity of many of the crimes North Wales Police deal with. Terrorism, serious organised crime, child sexual exploitation, cyber-crime, and human trafficking all require significant resources and the development of specific skills.Professor Sian Hope, High Sheriff of Gwynedd, Mark Polin, Chief Constable of North Wales Police, Professor John Hughes, Bangor University Vice Chancellor and Professor Martina Feilzer, Head of School of Social SciencesProfessor Sian Hope, High Sheriff of Gwynedd, Mark Polin, Chief Constable of North Wales Police, Professor John Hughes, Bangor University Vice Chancellor and Professor Martina Feilzer, Head of School of Social Sciences

In the face of austerity and pressures on the police as well as other public services the Chief Constable was highlighting the challenges for a thinly stretched service. He ended his thought-provoking lecture by calling on academic partners, including Bangor University to provide the skills needed for an increasingly diverse workforce and to collaboratively produce the evidence to improve policing practice.

Organised by Professor Sian Hope, the outgoing High Sheriff of Gwynedd, this public lecture was of relevance to many subjects at Bangor University but in particular to Law and Social Sciences students. Professor Martina Feilzer, Head of School of Social Sciences said: “It is rewarding to know that the skills of our students, particularly, Criminology and Criminal Justice students, are relevant to contemporary policing and that the Chief Constable is keen to collaborate with the University to improve evidence based policing.”

Publication date: 9 March 2018