A crackdown on road safety has been launched by the Skewen Neighbourhood Policing Team. The six-week campaign under the banner of Operation Crystal will target all forms of road safety issues, from speeding to dangerous parking outside schools.
The operation has been set up by the Skewen Neighbourhood Policing Team following concerns raised by the public through PACT meetings and other community engagement events with local officers. It got underway on March 2nd when a number of vehicles were seized and a number reported for being defective.
Skewen Police Community Support Officer Dominic Edgell said:
“Operation Crystal has been set up to tackle the escalating issues regarding road safety which have been raised at the Coedffranc PACT meeting and various police surgeries.
“We are concerned about speeding, illegal parking and the illegal use of vehicles in the area is harming public safety.
“Our operation will promote all forms of road safety in the coming weeks to make Skewen a safer place for all motorists and residents.”
The operation started with the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology in the Skewen and Neath Abbey areas. This resulted in two arrests for disqualified driving, one for possession of 200 Valium tablets and three vehicles being seized. A further four were issued with defect notices.
The operation will continue in the coming weeks with speeding and further ANPR exercises as well as school patrols to tackle illegal parking at the school gate. There will also be days of action to target motorists who don’t wear seatbelts and use a mobile phone at the wheel.
PCSO Edgell added:
“Our operation is underway and I hope the people of Skewen will see a noticeable improvement in the manner of driving in the area which will ultimately make the roads safer and deny criminals the use of the road.”
