Shoppers will receive a special gift to help keep their purses safe in Newport City Centre today (Thursday 3rd December).
Newport City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team and the Newport Transport bus company have teamed up to hand out personal security lanyards. The lanyards have a clip at each end to fasten purses to handbags, deterring thieves from stealing items from handbags.
On Thursday, police officers and PCSOs will hand out the lanyards to elderly and vulnerable people in Newport City Centre (Westgate Square / Bridge Street). The officers will also offer advice on how to avoid becoming a victim of theft.
The event will also provide an opportunity for the team of four Newport Transport PCSOs to introduce themselves to the public. The PCSOs are sponsored by the city’s bus company and are dedicated to keeping people safe while travelling on public transport. To demonstrate the partnership between Gwent Police and Newport Transport, a vintage 1960s bus will be on show to the public.
In the past 12 months more than 400 wallets and purses have been lost or stolen in Newport. Sergeant Steve Thorpe, of Newport City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team, hopes the free lanyards and crime prevention advice will stop people becoming victims of thefts. He said:
“The idea of the lanyard is to ensure that visitors to Newport have an enjoyable experience and feel safe within our community.
With an increase in visitors at this time of year, I hope they will help shoppers feel safer in our city centre. “
Chris Blyth, Managing Director of Newport Transport, added:
“We are delighted to be supporting such a positive initiative as part of our partnership with Gwent Police.
The safety of our passengers is paramount to us and initiatives such as these help safeguard the thousands of customers who use our buses every week to travel to the city centre in the run-up to Christmas.
The lanyard scheme coupled alongside our dedicated team of PCSOs make Newport Bus a safe and trusted form of public transport for customers.”
Police will also be handing out lanyards in the city centre on December 4th, 11th and 17th. If you would like one of the free lanyards but cannot visit the city centre on the above dates, please call Newport City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team on 01633 245 289, or send an email to: [email protected]
