‘Reckless’ teen banned from parts of Welsh town

A “reckless” teenager has been banned from parts of a Welsh town in the hopes it will “open her eyes” to the impact her behaviour is having on the community.

Tilly Giles, 18, was given a two-year criminal behaviour order (CBO) at Newport Magistrates Court on Tuesday 29 April in a bid to curb her “reckless and disorderly behaviour” in Blackwood.

Among the list of restrictions outlined in the order includes not entering the town’s retail park and not being in the bus station between 7pm and 7am.

It also prevents her from being in the company of a specific individual and “acting in a manner that causes or likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to persons not in the same household as you.”

Rare step

Inspector Chris Hopkin, who leads the neighbourhood policing team in Blackwood, said: “These orders aren’t issued lightly and are often only considered after we’ve worked with the individual and partners to try to resolve the issue.

“Unfortunately, our attempts to work with this young woman to turn her reckless and disorderly behaviour around haven’t had the desired effect, leading us to taking the rare step to issue a CBO to someone so young.

“We recognise Tilly is still young, however, and hope the result in court opens her eyes to the impact her behaviour has had on the town and community over recent months.”

The court heard that the CBO was being issued following a string of reports in February when Giles, then 17, was arrested on suspicion of offences including assaulting an emergency worker.

Threatening

She was also arrested on suspicion of failing to comply with a community protection notice, criminal damage, using threatening words, and displaying behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

Inspector Hopkin added: “Earlier this year, we saw an increase in reports of anti-social behaviour across the town and carried out a multi-agency operation to tackle it.

“The use of dispersal orders, increased patrols and enforcement activity where numerous arrests were made resulted in reports decreasing, and I hope this CBO helps this trend continue.

“Officers remain committed to tackling anti-social behaviour, and, while reports have decreased recently, we will continue to carry out additional patrols in the town.”

If Giles breaches any of the conditions detailed in her CBO, which runs until 29 April 2027, she will be committing a criminal offence and could face arrest and.

If found guilty, she may be fined, sentenced to imprisonment, or both.

As well as the CBO, the court imposed a community order which requires Giles to complete a number of rehabilitation activity requirements (RARs) and carry out 100 hours of unpaid community work.

If you see Giles breaching the order, please contact Gwent Police or call 101 so officers can act.