Combating Coastal Crime
Neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs in Porthcawl and Pyle are taking to the sea with members of the South Wales Police Specialist Search and Rescue team to combat crime along the coast.
Officers will be patrolling the coast from Newton to Sker, and further afield, in a dedicated boat over the next few weeks to combat issues such as antisocial behaviour, suspicious behaviour or possible drug-related activity on the beaches and in the sand dunes of the Kenfig nature reserve.
The team will soon be supported by a new 4 x 4 vehicle dedicated to the Porthcawl and Pyle area which will help them access hard-to-reach areas where normal patrol cars cannot go and crack down on scrambler bike nuisance in the dunes, parts of which are sites of special scientific interest.
"We are working in partnership work with the wardens on the Kenfig reserve as well as the coastguard and RNLI,” said Sgt Mike Davies of the Porthcawl Neighbourhood Policing team.
"The patrol boat can launch from the beaches at Newton and Rest Bay and also from Porthcawl Harbour, depending on the tides, to cover a long stretch of coast.
"This is a joint effort to try and crack down on any criminal or anti-social behaviour, particularly on the beach and also in the Kenfig dunes themselves, which cover a large area of rough terrain.
"These are isolated areas but with access to the 4x4 as well criminals should not think we cannot get to them and keep an eye on what they are up to.”
Anyone with information about anti-social behaviour or other suspicious activity along the coast or in Porthcawl and Pyle is asked to call the Neighbourhood Policing Team on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymous on 0800 555 111.