THE Chair of the Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Panel has stepped down following his retirement as a local county councillor.

Cllr Alun Lloyd Jones, of Ceredigion County Council, had served on the panel since its creation in 2012, firstly as vice-chairman and, since 2017, as chairman.

After a long association with policing, stretching back to his time as a special constable with North Wales Police in the 1970s, Cllr Lloyd Jones used much of his time leading the Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Panel to champion better rural policing.

Ahead of his retirement, he said: “I would like to thank all those I’ve had the pleasure of working with during my time on the panel and wish them every success and happiness in the future.”

A new membership of the Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Panel will be announced after the local elections on May 5.

A new Chair and Vice Chair will be appointed at the next Annual General Meeting in July.

The Panel is made of up of members nominated by Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys county councils along with two independent members.

The Panel has key statutory duties, including holding the Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn to account, scrutinising his decisions and actions, approving annual budgets, and if necessary reviewing the proposed appointment or removal of the Chief Constable and other senior police force appointments.