Public Health Wales and Policing and Criminal Justice partners across Wales have signed an agreement to work together to improve the quality of life, wellbeing and safety of people living in Wales.

This signifies a commitment to change the approach to policing by using an evidence base to understand the current Policing and Criminal Justice context and identify interventions to tackle root causes of vulnerability-related crime.  

Research shows that people who have Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and experience trauma are more likely to develop health-harming and anti-social behaviours. As approximately 90% of demand on police is not crime related but relates to complex welfare, public safety and vulnerability issues, this makes the police well placed to intervene more effectively and reduce the impact of ACEs and trauma. 

The partners involved in the agreement are Public Health Wales, the four Wales Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables, Her Majesty Courts and Tribunal Service (Wales), Her Majesty Prison and Probation Service Wales, Community Rehabilitation Company Wales and Youth Justice Board Wales, and each one will play a pivotal part in making this partnership a success.

This means that all employees across these organisations will have a key role to play in better identifying and addressing system-wide changes in policy and in the design, commissioning and delivery of services to improve the wellbeing and safety of families and communities across Wales.

Many of the issues facing policing, criminal justice and health organisations are rooted in inequality, vulnerability and adversity. In the past, services have often focussed on treating symptoms rather than preventing the causes, and by the time people reach front line professionals, it can feel too late to intervene.

This has created a number of challenges that place an extremely high demand on policing, criminal justice and health budgets and resources. This new agreement recognises that policing and public pealth are related. The police are the first responders to a range of situations involving criminal, civil or public health related issues.

We know that much of what police respond to is related to the preservation of health and wellbeing, therefore taking a public health approach provides a useful framework to understand the risk factors and the building blocks needed to address vulnerability and increase resilience.

As a result of our partnership, the Police and Partners ACEs Programme - Early Action together has been developed with funding from the Home Office Police Transformation Fund.

A two-year programme, Early Action Together proposes to increase early intervention and preventative activity when Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and trauma are evident, and individuals and families are at risk of poor outcomes in relation to crime.  

This will be achieved through pilot programmes across all Police Forces in Wales. The programme will take a multi-agency, public health approach to policing and criminal justice, identifying and implementing interventions which tackle root causes of vulnerability and crime and increase resilience for individuals and communities. 

The Early Action Together Programme will work on this shared agenda of health, wellbeing and criminal justice issues with organisations across the policing, criminal justice, education, housing, social care, mental health and support sectors to ensure a joined-up approach to improve the future of all people and generations to come. 

Although a Wales-wide programme, Early Action Together will be adaptable to local needs rather than trying to force a ‘one size fits all’ approach, and will focus on enabling effective and sustainable transformation of police forces across Wales by:  

• Working differently, not more – using existing police resources but changing the way in which police work
• Build into, not onto – looking at the Criminal Justice System as a whole and building new approaches into it which will benefit the entire system, rather than bolting new ways of working into some areas and not others
• People not processes – prioritising police force employees and the needs of people within the communities they serve, rather than just fulfilling processes
• Working with systems not symptoms - changing systems so that police can intervene earlier rather than having to deal with the outcomes of vulnerability and crime
• Leading by evidence not assumption – ensuring that interventions are based on health informed evidence, so police can be assured they’re being asked to do what works