Anti-social behaviour in Wales soars during virus lockdown
IT’S A tale of life in lockdown probably familar to many –“There were loads of gatherings and parties when we had good weather. The police were back and forth gone 1am one day”.
That 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 that plenty of people did just that, and the new environment we found ourselves in 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 antisocial 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 the force recorded 460 instances of anti-social behaviour.
And while that is significantly fewer than in cities such as Cardiff, it represents a huge 428% rise month on month.
In March, just 87 instances were logged in 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.
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 mother, 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 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 anti-social 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 coming into the town, whether they’re stopping off on the way to the Brecon Beacons. But everything is closed, even the toilets, so that doesn’t necessarily explain it either.
“I imagine it could possibly be higher because more people are at home now, people are reporting their neighbours for lower-end-ofthe-scale incidents like playing loud music.
“It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the figure to see how many are for lockdown breaches and how many are for other things.” “It’s baffling to me,” he added. Merthyr Tydfil was far from the only place to see a dramatic increase in anti-social behaviour reports.
In the Vale of Glamorgan, police data shows there was a 322% increase in reports of anti-social behaviour in April. In March, 155 reports were logged but this rose to 655 the following month.
Officers also recorded 729 incidents of anti-social behaviour in Neath Port Talbot – a 316% rise when compared with March, when there were 175 incidents.
In the Neath Port Talbot area in May, officers were called to deal with a large gathering in Briton Ferry after rumours circulated about an alleged paedophile. The force reminded people that large gatherings were not allowed.
Meanwhile, over in Newport east, Gwent Police recorded 936 reports of anti-social behaviour – a 392% increase from 190 in March. This represents the biggest increase in the force area.
Newport west showed an increase of 256% and Caerphilly 323%.
A spokesman for the force said that, like South Wales Police, it also recorded lockdown breaches as antisocial behaviour.
He said: “The police, like other emergency services, has seen a change in demand, especially around the types of calls we are receiving during the health crisis.
“Our force control room experienced periods of high call volume in April, peaking at 1,543 calls at the busiest point in the month on April 11.
“Calls about reports of anti-social behaviour in our force area would be included in this volume of calls, as would other incidents that members of the public would like to bring to the attention of Gwent Police.
“However, a rise in the number of calls does not always correlate to an increase in crime. Some of these incidents called into our force control room would not have required attendance from an officer.”
On May 31, Ryan Francis, chief inspector for policing in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Torfaen, said a number of resources were used to break up 40 young people having a party in a wooded area of Caerphilly.
He tweeted: “Some people just aren’t getting the message! Parents need to know where their teenagers are!”
However, the police spokesman said: “It is not the view of Gwent Police that the closure of schools has resulted in a higher-than-normal volume of calls about anti-social behaviour in the force area.”
New figures released on June 11 show that more than 2,200 fines were issued in Wales for breaches of the coronavirus lockdown laws between March 27 and June 8.
Out of those, South Wales Police issued 281 and Gwent Police 1,509.
The overwhelming majority were issued by Dyfed-Powys Police, which covers the counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys.
The force issued a total of 1,509 penalty notices up until June 8. This is the highest number of fines issued by any force in England and Wales during the period, by more than 400.
The National Police Chiefs Council said fines had been handed to people for driving with others who are not members of their household, for house parties, large gatherings and camping.
On May 31, in Pembrokeshire, the Pembroke Dock local policing team was met by 13 people who had travelled from the West Midlands to Stackpole. The force said the group became abusive toward PCSOs when asked to leave and were eventually issued fines and sent home.
Special constables on foot patrol in Tenby also stopped an extended family driving from Swindon to go to the beach. They were fined and sent home for the breach.
A driver was also stopped and fined after he travelled by train from the south coast of England to west Wales to collect a camper van.
When officers pulled the vehicle over, the driver explained that he was on his way home – to Brighton.
Meanwhile, one car was stopped on the A477 with the driver claiming he was travelling to Ireland “to collect a dog”.
Overall, the crime stats show that Dyfed-Powys Police recorded 199% more reports of anti-social behaviour in April compared to March.
Officers logged 720 alleged incidents in March and 2,159 in April.
Unlike Wales’ other three police forces, North Wales Police has not recorded lockdown breaches as antisocial behaviour.
As a result, its month-on-month figures don’t represent any dramatic change. The force logged 1,346 cases of anti-social behaviour in April and 1,453 in March.
The highest increase in recorded incidents was in Wrexham, where police recorded 343 cases in April, up 12% on the previous month.
In Conwy, police figures even show that anti-social behaviour dropped by 4% in April.
However, the force has issued the second-highest number of fines to people who have allegedly breached lockdown restrictions.
Between March 27 and June 8, officers handed out 350 fines.