Operation Street Safe – a Safer Blaenau Gwent Community Safety Partnership campaign – is underway to ensure that Blaenau Gwent’s town centres remain safe for local people over the festive season.
Christmas and New Year are typically some of busiest times of year for Gwent Police, Blaenau Gwent Council and other emergency services and patrols are being stepped up over this period, particularly around town centres.
Officers will be reminding revellers of the consequences of being caught acting anti-socially or taking part in criminal activity.
As part of the campaign, officers are also distributing posters to local pubs and clubs, to remind customers of the need to ‘drink safe and be safe’ over the Christmas and New Year period.
St. John’s Ambulance will be assisting on some of the busiest nights, by operating a mobile triage service. It will be running across Blaenau Gwent on Friday 18 December, Thursday 24 December, Saturday 26 December and Thursday 31 December.
The mobile triage service will provide emergency treatment for local revellers – so that fewer of them will need to travel to hospital Accident and Emergency departments at times when they are very busy.
Bottles of water will be handed out in town centres and officers will be providing a visible presence to deter any disorder, and to intervene at an early stage. The Safer Blaenau Gwent Community Safety Partnership will also be playing safety messages focussing on safe drinking and getting home safely on a large mobile screen.
In addition, Blaenau Gwent Council’s Trading Standards officers will be teaming up with the police to visit licensed premises. They will be checking that no-one under the age of 18 is being served alcohol. Extra street cleansing arrangements and increased patrols by litter wardens have also been arranged by the Council’s Streetworks team.
CABSAFE – a Community Safety Partnership initiative designed to help people get home safe this Christmas – is also running again this year. Simply text CAB to the number 83222 to get the numbers of the three licensed taxis closest to you.
Advice on holding safe house parties is also being handed out to shoppers at local supermarkets.
Coun Des Hillman, Leader of Blaenau Gwent Council and chair of the Community Safety Partnership, said:
“We want everyone in Blaenau Gwent to enjoy themselves over the Christmas and holiday period but we also want to remind them to be responsible and stay safe – don’t become a danger to yourself or anyone else.
By teaming up with Gwent Police – through Safer Blaenau Gwent Community Safety Partnership – we will be providing a more visible and reassuring presence on the streets of Blaenau Gwent.”
Blaenau Gwent Partnership Inspector Phil Morris said:
“This is typically one of the busiest times of year for the police, as well as other emergency services. It’s important that we work with our partners to ensure that our communities, and particularly the town centre areas which attract large crowds, remain safe. However it’s equally important that those celebrating the festive period do so in a safe and sensible manner. We don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun, but we also don’t want revellers to become the victims of crime or indeed an offender, as a result of drinking too much alcohol.”
