Blaenau Gwent Council, working as part of a new taskforce, has been successful in securing Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions against five male youths who have engaged in sustained violent and threatening behaviour in the Brynmawr and Tredegar areas.
This has followed numerous complaints from residents and businesses in the affected areas about the behaviour of the youths aged between 14 and 17.
The Injunctions are designed to prevent the individuals responsible from entering identified exclusion areas and causing further issues. The Injunctions carry power of arrest for any breach of the court order.
A new Anti-Social Behaviour Taskforce made up of Blaenau Gwent Council, Gwent Police, Tai Calon Community Housing and BG Youth Service, has been working together to provide a rapid, co-ordinated, and proportionate response to anti-social behaviour. As part of the Council’s Talk2gether engagement programme, the Taskforce has been out listening to people’s real concerns about behaviour in their communities and making them aware of the ways in which to report any worrying behaviour.
The Council now has a team of Community Safety Wardens who regularly patrol ‘hotspot’ locations, together with Gwent Police’s local Neighbourhood Policing Team and the Community Safety Officers. The Council’s Youth Service also works in these key locations, providing children and young people with positive opportunities and activities to try to prevent the path into anti-social behaviour.
Councillor Helen Cunningham, Blaenau Gwent Council’s Cabinet Member for Place & Environment, with responsibility for Community Safety says:
“Everyone has the right to feel safe and secure going about their daily lives. We know from talking to residents that this isn’t always the case, due to pockets of persistent anti-social behaviour. We are pleased to have worked with Tai Calon and Gwent Police to secure these injunctions and pleased that the Court has recognised the distress and alarm caused by the actions of those involved.
“An injunction of this kind will always be a last resort when other avenues have been exhausted. The Taskforce’s primary aim is to take an early intervention approach, looking to stop the escalation of such behaviours, reduce the impact on residents and maintain community safety.
“Tackling anti-social behaviour requires partnership working, and this includes local councillors, residents, and local businesses. It’s important that as the eyes and ears of their communities, they report incidents appropriately so that the relevant agencies are aware and can act”.
The Council chairs the Anti-Social Behaviour Perpetrator Case Management Group, which sees several agencies work together to effectively tackle anti-social behaviour by addressing needs such as education, prevention, intervention, and enforcement. From time-to-time, partners may agree that punitive measures are required where this is appropriate, proportionate, and necessary.
Each case goes through a robust process and is professionally judged on the nature, frequency and severity of the anti-social behaviour and partners will seek to intervene and support at all stages to prevent escalation.
The Group has also recently implemented the voluntary signing of Acceptable Behaviour Contracts with two youths, leading to a more intensive programme of wrap around support from services.
Chief Inspector Stevie Warden said:
“One of the key aims of Gwent Police, and our community safety partnership in Blaenau Gwent, is to reduce anti-social behaviour (ASB) and protect residents from associated harm and nuisance.
“Anti-social behaviour, in all of its forms, is completely unacceptable. It can significantly and negatively impact our residents and those working in the area.
“With partners, we carry out a number of proactive operations and deliver engagement initiatives to combat the issue. When offending becomes persistent, however, one of the things we consider is applying for anti-social behaviour injunctions (ASBI), which impose specific conditions on individuals who’ve acted disorderly in the past.
“I’m pleased with the ongoing enforcement action taken by the partnership to apply for injunctions at court. These processes enable us to intervene and speak to offenders about how their behaviour negatively impacts their community – in the hope of improving their behaviour, stopping further acts of disorder and preventing them from entering the criminal justice system.”
Gillian Barnett, Community Safety Officer at Tai Calon Community Housing says:
“At Tai Calon Community Housing, we are committed to fostering safe and welcoming communities for all our residents. The recent Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions represent a significant step forward in our collective effort with the Local Authority and Gwent Police to address and reduce anti-social behaviour in Blaenau Gwent. As a taskforce, we responded swiftly and effectively to the concerns of our community. We believe these measures will curb current issues and serve as a proactive approach to preventing future incidents, ensuring a safer environment for everyone.”
