A police boss has vowed to crack down on drugs gangs and child sexual exploitation after his proposed 38p a week rise in the cost of policing was approved.

Among the other priorities revealed by North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones are tackling domestic abuse, cyber crime and modern day slavery.

Mr Jones was speaking after the 7.7 per cent increase, one of the lowest in England and Wales, was given the green light by the North Wales Police and Crime Panel on Monday, 28 January.

According to the commissioner, it will enable him to invest in front line policing by recruiting an extra 34 officers and six staff on top of the 90 additional officers and staff taken on since he was elected in 2016.

The UK Government gave special dispensation to forces to charge an extra £24-a-year for Band D properties and most forces are expected to accept the opportunity to take the maximum after years of austerity, allied to the necessity of pumping more cash into police pensions because of the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.

But at £19.98 former police inspector Mr Jones’ increase is well below the £24 ceiling.

He said: “North Wales is still one of the safest places in the UK but that doesn’t mean we don’t face challenges and many of these are in new forms and we have to be ready to adapt to them.

“The fact is that a great deal of crime committed today happens online and we are very aware now in north Wales that our frontline is now online.

“But we are also seeing the use of county lines by city drug gangs to infiltrate areas like north Wales by coercing and exploiting children and young adults to build up their drug supply networks.

“I believe police resources should be concentrated on targeting the organised criminals who are responsible for peddling drugs and not their helpless victims.”

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