Police ‘getting on top’ of notorious antisocial behaviour in Barry

Ted Peskett Local Democracy Reporter

A police inspector has insisted that officers are getting on top of antisocial behaviour on a busy Barry road.

South Wales Police Inspector Gareth Childs told members of Vale of Glamorgan Council’s community liaison committee at a meeting on Thursday, January 18, that the issue of antisocial behaviour was raised by shopkeepers on Holton Road last year.

Ringleaders

Insp Childs said ringleaders have been identified and dealt with, but added that dispersing the issue has caused it to move elsewhere.

Court ward councillor Sandra Perkes said there were “real issues” with antisocial behaviour last summer and asked for an update on the situation.

Insp Childs said: “We did have a problem [on Holton Road] going back a couple of months ago leading up to the Christmas period. We know the individuals involved.”

According to police data, there were 37 reports of crime in relation to Holton Road between November 2022 and November 2023.

Of those, five were recorded as antisocial behaviour, eight as criminal damage, one as burglary and one as shoplifting.

19 of the crime reports for Holton Road during this period were recorded as being in the violence or sexual offences category.

Focus

Insp Childs said: “We are more on top of the antisocial behaviour on Holton Road, but once you get on top of a particular area and you disperse, you end up dispersing the problem on.

“And what has happened then is we get more antisocial behaviour in the Barry area towards the waterfront where Morrisons is. It is an area of focus for us at the moment.”

The police inspector later added: “We are dealing with these young lads as best we can.

“We have dealt with the ringleaders… they are very much on our radar and we are looking to proactively police them and deal with the issues of antisocial behaviour at the same time.”