South Wales Police
Template:Infobox UK Police South Wales Police (Welsh: Heddlu De Cymru) is one of the four Home Office police forces in Wales.
Covering Wales' capital city, Cardiff, as well as Swansea, and the South Wales Valleys, it is the largest police force in Wales in terms of population, and the seventh largest in the UK.
The force was formed in 1968 by a merger of the Glamorgan Constabulary along with the borough forces for Cardiff, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil. [1]. In 1974, with the re-organisation of local government, the force's area was expanded to cover the newly-created Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan.
In further local government re-organisation in 1996 the force area lost the Rhymney Valley area to Gwent Police. Today it covers the principal areas of Bridgend, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea and the Vale of Glamorgan — most of the traditional county of Glamorgan.
Glamorgan Constabulary had itself been established in 1841. A separate Neath borough police existed until 1947. [2]
Under proposals made by the Home Secretary on February 6, 2006, the force would merge with North Wales Police, Gwent Police and Dyfed-Powys Police, to form a single strategic force for all of Wales. [3]
The current Chief Constable is Miss Barbara Wilding.