30 minutes is allocated for questions to the Gwent Police representative.
Minutes:
The Presiding Member introduced Superintendent Jason White, who provided council members with an update on Police issues within East, West, and Central Newport.
The Presiding Member congratulated Superintendent White on his promotion.
The Presiding Member invited the Leader to address Superintendent White.
The Leader congratulated Superintendent on his promotion.
The Leader referred to the recent introduction of a briefing note sent out to members from Chief Inspector Davies, which was very helpful. It highlighted where police contacts were and outlined the major issues across the city There was support across the Chambers, councillors confirmed they found the briefing note very useful. The Leader asked if the Police intended to continue this. Superintendent White advised that this briefing format would continue but that there would be some officer changes; Carl Williams was remaining as Chief Superintendent and Superintendent White was replacing Vicki Townsend. Chief Inspector Davies was remaining in Newport but taking over the Superintendent’s previous role. There was also the addition of Amanda Thomas who was dealing with neighbourhood side.
Questions to the Police raised by Councillors:
§ Councillor Jordan wanted to pass on his thanks to Inspector Hannah Welty and the team who dealt with a robbery at a Newsagents in Bettws recently, which ended in an arrest. Millbrook School in Bettws was targeted by youths who had broken into the school causing damage. The Head Teacher was at school during one break in and raised the alarm; causing the youths to run away. One of the youths dropped her purse and was identified in this way. There were also break ins at the Flying Start building and Ifor Hael school. Councillor Jordan requested extra police presence on foot patrol around the area. The Superintendent agreed to extra police patrols as requested. The Detective Inspector confirmed that the police in Newport were very eager to quickly identify offenders and had a very good return rate in dealing with robberies and violent crime. The Superintendent stated that over the last 4-6 weeks in Newport Central and West the Police had identified and arrested 12 individuals and there was ongoing work around prevention and intervention. Concerning the burglaries at Millbrook and Flying Start, the Superintendent advised that the Police had heavily invested in a system called ‘We Don’t Buy Crime’, which was geared towards crime prevention. Officers were helping to prevent crime and keep communities safe, giving crime prevention advice to reduce reoffences.
§ Councillor M Howells referred to vehicle congregation and car racing on the Southern Distributor Road (SDR). Tesco in Spytty was a previous location for this, and officers worked very hard with councillors to address this. Councillor M Howells stated that over the past six months this was happening again with youths congregating at the Velodrome and racing their cars. Councillor M Howells requested that the police therefore also respond to this, and confirmed he was happy to also meet with Newport Live to engage their support. The Superintendent was pleased to announce that calls had reduced in that area. The Superintendent confirmed that Former retired Chief Inspector Blakemore was the force leader of problem-solving orientated policing and was looking at particular issues around car meets across Newport and partnership work to resolve this within communities.
§ Councillor Mogford mentioned that he was pleased to hear that Operation Harley was starting up again. Councillor Mogford went on to discuss e-scooters that were travelling around with impunity, and queried where did they fit on the priority list. The Superintendent confirmed an e-scooter was seized last week in St Julian’s, and an individual was arrested with intent to supply using a scooter. This is a UK-wide issue, as this mode of transport was commonly being used for these types of offences. E-scooters are classed as motor vehicles and these tactics could be used to stop vehicles under Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act to seize the vehicle where no licence or insurance is held, The Superintendent confirmed that proportionality is considered concerning interventions. Building up the intelligence picture was also important, using the Neighbourhood Teams to build up intelligence to seize the vehicles under Section 59: using an e-scooter in an anti-social manner.
§ Councillor Harvey wanted to apologise to Chief Superintendent Carl Williams for providing him with incorrect information. Councillor Harvey had apologised via email but wanted to set it at Full Council because it was raised here at the last meeting.
§ Councillor Marshall mentioned that The Hub opened yesterday, promoting technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help people in the communities remain in their own homes under Operation Herbert. This has seen a reduction in police resources being utilised, for example when those with dementia need to be located or by using devices for welfare checks. Councillor Marshall asked if the police could come along to The Hub to see the technology and how this supports the police and Councillors to collaborate and help communities. Superintendent White welcomed the opportunity for police staff to attend The Hub and agreed that new technology was key to responsive policing. Police are now issued with laptops which has reduced the need to return to the station, helping them to remain visible in communities. Superintendent White confirmed that police could also now take virtual statements, as well as in person.
§ Councillor Batrouni referred to the importance of the police having a physical presence in communities which reassures residents and asked Superintendent White to provide an update on visibility in the community. Superintendent White advised that whilst Newport was a large area to police, if there was a particular issue in a ward area officers would be task called and their visibility would be seen in these areas. He added that police cars are often seen attending priority calls, but less obviously visible to the public was the neighbourhood teams, road traffic officers, and joint firearms unit officers. The Superintendent confirmed that there are patrol plans in place, as well as other elements such as CSOs. Superintendent White confirmed that Operation Uplift meant that as a force, numbers in Gwent had increased by 167 officers and Newport had benefited from this.
§ Councillor Jones referred to Deer Park House, an old building near Whitehead’s Sports Facility. He went on to say the building was fenced off, but teenagers ha smashed the fences down, causing antisocial behaviour including violence, fire, fighting and drugs, which spilled out into antisocial behaviour in Carnegie Court. Councillor Jones asked if the police be able to visit the premises. Superintendent White confirmed he would speak to the local inspector to ensure this was looked into.
§ Councillor Adan mentioned the closures of residential properties linked with county lines and asked how many houses had been closed in the Newport area for this reason. The Superintendent stated that did not have the information to hand, but would email the details; however, Superintendent White was aware that one premises had been closed at the end of March in the Pill area of Newport and there was work underway to close a further location.
Councillor Morris mentioned that Lliswerry ward members had held a public meeting recently where residents expressed concern about antisocial behaviour in the Pontfaen shops. Councillor Morris had explained to residents that reporting each incident to the police meant that more information would be gathered and could be acted upon. Councillor Morris said that residents had said that they could not get hold of the police, therefore could the Superintendent advise alternative methods of contact. The Superintendent mentioned that all ward officers had mobile phones, and on the Gwent Police website were the details of local ward officers and how they could be contacted, rather than using the 101 service. The Superintendent confirmed that there are also dedicated patrols in that area and the police were working with partners and the community to put in place long term preventative measures such as engaging with youths. Councillor Spencer suggested that police can also be contacted via Face book. Superintendent White confirmed that this was resourced 24/7 and was very responsive.