Following recent reports of anti-social behaviour in and around Chepstow Bandstand, Chepstow Neighbourhood Policing Team along with partner agencies such as Monmouthshire County Council and Environmental Health have decided enough is enough.
Common complaints from local residents have been of youths dropping litter and breaking glass bottles, drinking alcohol, swearing and shouting and urinating in and around the bandstand. The problems are worse on weekends and during the evenings.
To deal with these problems, daily patrols have been carried out by the Neighbourhood Team and youths have been moved on with any alcohol found being confiscated. Letters have also been sent to parents to inform them of their children’s behaviour.
An operation was also organised in August over two consecutive weekends to tackle the problems and in total over the summer 231 stop checks were carried out in the area. This means that anyone acting suspiciously or hanging around in the area was stopped and asked why they were in the area.
A noise analysis of the area has also been completed and Environmental Health have classed that the noise levels are unacceptable. This means that they will be actively enforcing sound levels in the bandstand area.
In order to monitor the behaviour of offenders, a temporary CCTV camera will also be used to assist the police and council.
As a result of these efforts, the number of calls has decreased from 19 in July to 2 calls in September however local officers are aware that anti-social behaviour is still a concern for local resident in the area.
PCSO Sally Parker who is the local officer for St Mary’s ward explained, ‘This is a real concern for local residents, we have even received reports of children not wanting to use the park because of the broken bottles and some pet owners have taken their dogs to the vets because they have cut their paws.
‘These are the real results of anti-social behaviour. The children are probably not aware of the consequences of their actions but their behaviour is unacceptable. We want to encourage these youths to go to organised youth centres such as ‘The Kaff’ on Welsh Street where they will not cause any alarm or distress to members of the public.’
PCSO Parker added, ‘We would also like to appeal to the parents of children visiting the bandstand to make sure their children act responsibly. We are taking action against offenders, please don’t allow or condone your child to act in an anti-social manner.’
