PARTY BREAK-UP
RUGBY FANS AMONG THOSE FINED BY POLICE ON NIGHT OF LOCKDOWN BREACHES
PLUS: WALES’ BIGGEST COVID MISTAKES OUTBREAK ‘FORCED GP SURGERY CLOSURE’ £100m FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE RECOVERY PLAN
FINES were handed out after police broke up a party of 14 rugby fans watching Wales lose to France.
It was just one of the offences officers were called out to as South Wales Police revealed yesterday how the force dealt with nearly 1,500 incidents on Saturday.
Superintendent Marc Attwell described it as “one of the busiest days of 2021 so far” for officers in the force area.
At least 32 fines were issued in Merthyr Tydfil where police found 14 fans watching the thrilling Six Nations game on a projector, where Wales were cruelly denied a Grand Slam in the final minutes of the game.
In Swansea, officers said they were also called out to reports of parties organised for the rugby match and for the South Wales derby between Cardiff City and Swansea.
Officers said on social media: “It’s been a busy one tonight [Saturday] with the football and rugby. PCSO officer has been all over Eastside attending at reported parties, conducting welfare checks and carrying out hotspots patrols.”
Households are not allowed to mix indoors due to current coronavirus rules, while First Minister Mark Drakeford, police and doctors had urged fans to watch it in their own homes and not mix.
Mr Drakeford had urged on Friday: “If you’re watching Wales this weekend, please watch with members of your household only.
“The last thing we want is to mark a potential Grand Slam weekend with a surge in Covid cases.”
On Saturday night, a night South
Wales Police would usually, largely, be dealing with revellers spilling out of pubs and bars in towns and cities across the nation, our reporter Ffion Lewis joined one of the force’s response teams in Merthyr.
She and photographer Richard Swingler met PC Cook and PC Cole in Merthyr Tydfil Police station at around 7pm on this “Super Saturday” like never before as they prepare to begin that evening’s patrols.
There were two specific Covid response teams already out on duty dealing with rule breaches so this team’s job was to respond to any other incidents that occur in their area that covers the entire Merthyr Valley – from Rhigos to Abercynon. These can range from domestic violence incidents, anti-social behaviour calls, mental health calls and road traffic incidents – everything you would expect to find before Covid was on the scene.
The officers explain that a huge number of resources have been spent on policing Covid regulations and say it would be almost impossible to police without these additional resources. Wales’ Grand Slam clash with France kicks off at 8pm and it’s expected that the shift will get off to a quiet start while the game is being played. PC Cook explains that during quieter periods officers patrol neighbourhoods to ensure that there is a police presence on the streets but also use this time to follow up any ongoing intelligence officers are working on.
This could mean following up on any outstanding warrants, keeping an ear on the radio to see if there are any calls for assistance nearby, catch up with those who had been on the day shift for any handover and go through the briefing documents for ongoing incidents.
They explain that every officer has their own intelligence so it depends who is on shift what will be followed up that day.
While patrolling Aberdare, officers explain that on a weekend such as this the main streets in Aberdare such as Commercial Street and Market Street would be packed – with up to 200 people out in the street, not including all those in the pubs.
Officers also say the bus stop would usually attract youths gathering; this is sometimes up to a couple of hundred people and there are often instances of underage drinking and drug use. However people are now ordered to stay at home and so instead officers, often, face domestic issues.
PC Cook explains: “Sadly, during this time I’d say domestic calls have probably doubled. With people spending time at home then arguments are now happening in households rather than in the nighttime economy.
“Unfortunately on international days such as today we do get a lot of domestic violence calls and sadly this goes up again when alcohol is involved.”
PC Cook explains how the previous evening he was called to reports of a gathering of around 200 youths on a nearby field. When he arrived this number wasn’t exactly the case and he says that many groups disperse once they see a police presence.
He also explains that much of this policing involves engagement rather than enforcement, and youths cannot be issued Fixed Penalty Notices.
“I sympathise with them in a way, and I’m sure a lot are frustrated with the ongoing restrictions but I think it’s about getting across that we are there for a purpose to make sure these rules are being followed,” he said. “Most are compliant and respectful and I think that comes down to how such things are dealt with and the rapport you build up within the community.”
PC Cole says officers receive a lot of mental health calls and that this has gone up during the Covid pandemic. He said that because people have not been able to rely on people in the same way they usually would it’s had a big impact on their metal heath.
The teams responds to an antisocial behaviour call where a couple believe they are being targeted by youths throwing rocks at their windows, a possible domestic violence incident and a road traffic collision, where officers find several tinfoil wrappers and needles often linked to heroin use, a deal book and several phones and sim cards in an abandoned car. A man is arrested near the scene.
At the station, with the officers nearing the end of their shift, Superintendent Marc Attwell says that throughout Saturday, the force has dealt with around 1,500 Covid-related incidents.
These are not individual calls but this is how many were converted into incidents where officers made inquiries. A lot of these turned out to be false alarms, in which it appeared as though people were breaking the rules but in fact they were not.
The superintendent said that policing during the Covid crisis had been tough and that people needed to remember that officers were affected by the ongoing pandemic too.
He said that the average person experiences between three and five traumatic experiences in their lives, but the average police officer will experience around 800 in the span of their career.
“These are the people who we ask to respond to and police the community as well as respond to the biggest emergencies. You deal with a range of shifts on this job but the way they are apple to apply themselves to these situations is incredible. At the end of the day they are just ordinary people who are asked to respond to very extraordinary situations. They never know what they are going to be dealing with and are an absolute credit to the force.
“People in these communities really trust these officers and it’s a real privilege to lead them.”