It's official! (From Free Press Series)

It's official!

TREVETHIN'S neighbourhood policing team has started work on tackling crime and disorder in the area.

As we exclusively revealed in the Free Press last month, high-ranking officers took the decision to site four PCs and a sergeant on the estate as a response to rising disorder levels. The decision was made after a recent incident when the tyres of 67 cars were slashed. Investigations into that incident are ongoing.

The new team will be based at the police station at Trevethin shops and will patrol the Trevethin, St Cadocs and Penygarn area. The officers are:

Sergeant Mike Pheasant and PCs Clive Elliot, Mike Price, Glyn Mason and Marc Porter.

The move to add more officers follows on from the dispersal order aimed at stopping gangs congregating at Trevethin shops and the introduction of CCTV cameras there.

Speaking at the launch of the team on Monday, Sgt Pheasant said: "We're looking forward to coming here and working with the community. Before, we didn't have as much time as we would like to dedicate to this area.

"We recognise the need for a more focussed approach to the area's policing but a lot of problems have been blown out of proportion. There are a lot of good people living here who are supportive of the police."

Inspector Jo Bull added: "This is a real opportunity for us to work properly with the community and to engage with them to improve the area over the long term."

She said they would measure the success or failure of the initiative by comparing crime figures.

"We will look at crime and anti-social behaviour levels over the past 12 months and compare them with levels from now.

"There is a chance this type of initiative is something we could use elsewhere."

Trevethin councillor John Marshall welcomed the new officers, but warned they had been in a similar situation before, with more officers arriving - and then being taken away again. "This is great news, but I hope it's for real this time," he said.

Inspector Bull said: "These officers have been put here permanently. We're looking for consistency. We have to be trusted by the local community to be able to work with them.

"We have always policed here 24 hours but now we're aiming to have better links with the community. This is an exciting opportunity for us."

Trevethin councillor Lewis Jones said: "We've campaigned for an increase in policing in the area for a long time. This is a great day and I'm sure all the people will get behind the police. This is a great community and it's only a minority causing problems."

Manager of the local Spar shop, Jacqui Bridges, said: "The extra policing is excellent news."

You can call Trevethin police station on 01495 764600.