THERE has been no reduction in police numbers in Abergavenny since the town's old police station closed, Gwent Police representatives told locals at a public meeting on Wednesday (April 24).

Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay had organised the meeting for locals to share their concerns over crime in Abergavenny and a perceived shrinking police presence in the town.

Gwent Police Superintendent Daniel Taylor and Inspector Damien Sowrey attended the meeting, along with the region's police and crime commissioner, Jeff Cuthbert.

Local residents raised a number of issues with the panel during the course of the meeting, primarily fears the number of officers responsible for policing the area had been reduced following the police station's closure.

But the force's representatives said there was no difference in the present number of officers, within either the Abergavenny Response Team or the Neighbourhood Policing Team, compared to the number before the station closed.

Superintendent Taylor told attendees that officers operating out of the old station on Tudor Street now worked out of temporary facilities at the Fire Station on Hereford Road, but had the same patrol responsibilities as previously.

The exception, he said, was the station enquiry officer, who now worked out of a shared facility with Monmouthshire County Council at the one-stop shop in the town centre.

The meeting also discussed a number of commercial burglaries in the town since December 2018.

While officers were unable to divulge specifics of the ongoing investigations, they told the meeting's attendees a number of individuals had been identified and arrested.

Enquiries are ongoing, the police said, and crime scene evidence has been submitted for forensic analysis to support cases against the suspects.

Following the meeting, Superintendent Taylor said: “This public meeting was very helpful as it allowed us to understand the concerns of the local residents around the closure of the old police station and the magistrates' courts.

"I can reassure the people of Abergavenny and the surrounding areas that the move into a new home for policing in Abergavenny has not reduced the number of officers who police the area in any way.”