Drop in number of city crime incidents

CRIME and anti-social behaviour incidents have fallen across Newport in recent months, but concerns remain over drug issues and begging in the city.

Gwent Police say the reduction is a result of a clampdown on organised crime groups and prolific offenders.

Superintendent Michael Richards told a Newport council meeting that the number of crimes fell from 1,650 in November to 1,480 last month.

And a further drop is expected this month, with around 1,300 crimes reported so far, which is 300 less compared to January last year.

“We really stepped up our enforcement on some organised crime groups across the city and some prolific offenders,” superintendent Richards said.

“The results I think are quite startling.”

The number of anti-social behaviour incidents are also down from around 300 in January last year to 230 this month.

This is also a decrease from the autumn, when around 350 incidents were reported in one month.

While encouraging, superintendent Richards added the figures are only “part of the story.”

Several councillors raised concerns over reports of drug issues in their wards during Tuesday’s meeting.

Rogerstone councillor Chris Evans read out an account from a resident who said they are “blighted every day” by drug dealing taking place outside a church.

The resident said they had “given up” reporting the issue because it is “too frequent and nothing is ever done.”

“If it has gone outside of some of the areas you are aware of and is now happening outside a church in Rogerstone then we have got a problem,” Cllr Evans said.

Labour councillor Abdul-Majid Rahman also reported “a spike” in the number of residents reporting drug issues in the Victoria ward.

And Conservative Ray Mogford said the problem was a “supply and demand” issue, questioning if the police knew how many drug dealers there were in the city.

In response, Superintendent Richards said Newport has “always been a hotspot for drug supply”, but he said the issue is not getting worse.

Councillor Matthew Evans also questioned the effectiveness of a ban on aggressive begging within 10 metres of cash machines.

Superintendent Richards said the force would be happy to look at extending the ban outside of the 10-metre zone, if councillors and residents felt it would make a difference.