March started off with a well planned and executed rural crime operation, managed by our local Monmouth PC, Chris Butt. The operation brought in teams from Gloucestershire Police, Natural Resources Wales, The Forestry Commission and some private bailiffs and rangers too, all of which supported the joint initiative.
Amongst the numerous stops there were also some cracking arrests in the Wentwood Forest area. Three man made off from a vehicle but were quickly tracked down by the use of stealth, heat detecting equipment and a police dog. All three were arrested for various offences including being wanted for a string of burglaries in the Gwent and South Wales Police areas. The operation also led to valuable intelligence being harvested in relation to illegal poaching. Overall a very worthwhile night’s work which should lead to more of such in the coming months.
You may remember that we were applying, with our partners, Monmouthshire County Council for two Public Space Protection Orders in the Skate Park and Fairfields Car Park in Abergavenny. I am pleased to announce that these have now been approved and we were awaiting the signage before the upholding of the Order can commence. We will, of course, continue to respond to calls in these areas and police what we find, although the Protection Order should give us the additional tools to give respite to the communities in these areas and allow the facilities to be used appropriately. Stay tuned more to come on this….
Further partnership work was also demonstrated at the end of February, with a joint operation with Trading Standards, Monmouthshire County Council Licensing Department and our Police Cadets, to tackle the selling of alcohol to persons underage. Three premises were targeted, in Abergavenny, and unfortunately all three failed and fines were issued. We will work closely with these premises to ensure they attain the correct standards for the holding of their licenses and utilise community intelligence to identify premises to target. So thanks to you all and keep the intelligence coming in!
A pleasing part of my role is the receiving letters of appreciation for the work of my officers and staff. This month has seen an increase in these. Below is a snippet from one I received:
‘I am emailing really just to pass on my appreciation to PC Adam Hollings and CSO Amanda Yung, two officers based in Abergavenny.
They have not done anything in particular for me; however I feel they are both fantastic officers who really do make a positive difference in our community. My friends and I always find Adam’s tweets so funny but also informative and believe he is the kind of officer Abergavenny needs, someone who is not afraid to have a walk around the town after dark and deal with the problems that are affecting local people. The same can be said for Amanda, she really is amazing and a credit to Gwent Police in my opinion (and many, many others locally – trust me on that!)
I hope you will pass my comments on to the two officers and let them know the community really does appreciate their work.’
Finally, we have to say “Goodbye” to our Neighbourhood Sergeant, PS Dave Seymour. Dave has been my right hand since I arrived in March last year and I wish him all the best for the future.
For daily updates, follow my teams on Twitter: @gpabergavenny and @gpmonmouthusk
You can also email me any policing issues in your community arwel.hicks@gwent.pnn.police.uk
Inspector Arwel Hicks
