Cynon Valley

Police reveal that complaints about anti-social behaviour rocket during lockdown

- BRONTE HOWARD newsdesk@walesonlin­e.co.uk

“THERE were loads of gatherings and parties when we had good weather. The police were back and forth gone 1am one day.”

It’s a tale of life in lockdown probably familar to many.

The above comment is from a resident of Merthyr Tydfil, but you might have heard similar observatio­ns in any number of places.

The fact is that crime in Wales changed when lockdown was announced on March 23 as the UK grappled with the coronaviru­s pandemic.

Suddenly, you could be breaking the law if you stepped outside your home without a valid reason.

It turns out, plenty of people did just that, and the new environmen­t we found ourselves in has had a dramatic effect on criminal behaviour, as well as what counts as such.

Anti-social behaviour complaints skyrockete­d in Wales during the first full month of lockdown.

Official crime figures for April – the first full month since lockdown began – show that the number of anti-social behaviour cases in Wales shot up from just over 5,500 in March to more than 16,000 in April.

South Wales Police, which serves 42% of Wales’ population, saw the biggest increase of 247%.

There is no universal definition of what is considered anti-social behaviour, but generally it means acting in a way that causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress.

According to the Met Police, it includes vehicle abandonmen­t, vehicle nuisance or inappropri­ate use, rowdy or inconsider­ate behaviour, littering, animal problems, trespassin­g, street drinking, nuisance calls, nuisance noise, begging, misuse of fireworks and “prostitute­related activity”.

However, in April, South Wales Police – and other Welsh police forces – began recording suspected lockdown breaches as anti-social behaviour.

This means the increase can partly be attributed to reports of things like illegal gatherings, people visiting friends and relatives and non-essential businesses opening.

In April, South Wales

Police recorded 2,019 instances of anti-social behaviour in Cardiff – a 196% increase on the previous month, when 682 incidences were logged.

However, it wasn’t the Welsh capital that showed the biggest jump in incidents.

In Merthyr Tydfil force recorded 460 of anti-social

And while that is significan­tly less than in cities such as Cardiff – it represents a huge 428% rise month-on-month.

In March, just 87 were logged Merthyr Tydfil.

South Wales Police would not offer any explanatio­n for the sharp rise in figures in Merthyr Tydfil when questioned and said no police officers were available for interview. the instances behaviour. instances in

Merthyr Tydfil council also didn’t respond when asked to comment on the figures.

Some residents of the town said they did notice more anti-social behaviour in April when schools were closed and many people were at home, but others were baffled by the figure.

One mum, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I’ve witnessed an increase in anti-social behaviour since lockdown began in Merthyr Tydfil.

“There were loads of gatherings and parties when we had good weather. The police were back and forth gone 1am one day.

“Me and my family have seen teenagers playing Russian roulette in the road and riding on their motorbikes, mounting pavements, weaving close to people.

“With this in mind, I can believe the figures are up with anti-social behaviour in Merthyr Tydfil.”

Other residents thought the rise could be down to people from outside of Merthyr Tydfil travelling into the area.

Jason Gillespie said: “It could be people breaching lockdown rules by travelling into Merthyr. I haven’t seen any antisocial behaviour myself, although that isn’t to say it isn’t happening.”

Councillor Clive Jones, who represents the Park ward, said he was “shocked” by the figure.

Mr Jones, deputy leader of the opposition, said: “It’s really high given that the population is just under 60,000. I was taken aback when I saw the figure.

“I have been inside shielding since the week before lockdown began, so I haven’t been out and about – but I haven’t received any concerns from my constituen­ts or heard of an increase of anti-social behaviour.

“I have heard that some people have broken the lockdown rules, but I imagine that’s the same across Wales and I wouldn’t imagine it would be a particular problem for Merthyr Tydfil.

“It could be people

 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Police forces in Wales have seen increases in anti-social
Police forces in Wales have seen increases in anti-social

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom