Nine arrests in ten days as Welsh officers continue fight against neighbourhood crime

A new neighbourhood policing operation in south-east Wales has seen officers make nine arrests across ten days.

Operation Beaver, a proactive policing operation, was introduced to complement ongoing work to tackle anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood crime in Abertillery, Brynmawr, Ebbw Vale and Tredegar.

Through a blend of proactive warrants and patrols to target suspects and reactive briefings to respond to reports of crime, the neighbourhood team is ‘building on recent good work in the area to increase trust in communities through dynamic policing that tackles the issues affecting the public’.

Negative impact

Sgt Dan Wise, who’s leading the operation, said: “Day in, day out, officers are dedicated to tackling the issues affecting residents in Blaenau Gwent. Each shift, we analyse the reports we’ve received and ensure we’re patrolling areas being impacted by crime and anti-social behaviour.

“Since its launch, Operation Beaver has seen us make numerous arrests, seize drugs and weapons, and return four people to prison who’d breached their licence conditions.

“The operation is all about making sure we’ve got our officers in the right place, at the right times, and proactively targeting those we suspect to be negatively impacting our communities – whether that’s through theft offences, drug supply or disorderly behaviour.”

Community Action Team

The ongoing operation includes work with the recently established Community Action Team, who, in recent months, have worked with neighbourhood officers in Tredegar to tackle the illegal use of off-road bikes.

Find out more about their work here.