Not in my Neighbourhood: A fantastic week of community Engagement in the Borough
A week of positive action took place in the Bridgend division of the South Wales Police last week under the heading of ‘NOT IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD’; a nationwide operation run by the Home Office.
The activities organised by the two neighbourhood policing teams stood out across the force for the involvement and dedication from the teams in Bridgend.
The week was extremely well received by the community and according to Sgt Truscott and Sgt Haggerty, stacks of information was handed out about the initiatives in each area, such as Neighbourhood Watch and Neighbourhood Policing. Sgt Truscott stated that the clean up in Bettws in partnership with Valleys 2 Coast and Bridgend County Borough Council was very well received in the community.
It has been widely felt that the Neighborhood policing teams have managed to engage with the three generations of the community- youth, adults and elderly.
WalesOffice Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said: "Not in My Neighbourhood week is really helping to give residents and local agencies a chance to work together to tackle local crime issues, alcohol misuse and anti-social behaviour.
"It’s great to see the local neighbourhood police team in Bridgend taking part in the week and getting the local community involved. By educating local residents on the various schemes and initiatives that are underway in the Bridgend area everyone can start to play their part in tackling crime.
“I pay tribute to the work of the Bridgend neighbourhood police team and the community support officers, with whom I have had close contact over the past year. I have seen for myself the work they are doing to improve the community we all live in.
"By working together we can all help to make a difference and to make our streets safer for everyone."
Highlights
Speed gun operations took place in Ogmore Vale, Nantymoel, Bettws and FladauPrimary schools where children took to the streets with the officers and gave speeding drivers a row under supervision. ‘Operation Zig Zag’ took place in several locations as well, highlighting the dangers that drivers could cause.
Penyfai primary school made a colourful banner as part of their ‘kerbcraft’ class in conjunction with Road safety officers from BCBC and PCSOs Martin Trask and Chris Bowen, which stated ‘SPEEDING, NOT IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD’.
Aberkenfig Policing team took out the police trailer to Sarn and spoke to local people about personal safety and crime prevention. One lady found this exercise extremely useful as she had her handbag stolen the previous week from her shopping trolley. The officers were able to provide her with a special device to prevent such an occurrence happening again.
The week was about engaging local communities and raising awareness of the work being done by the Safer Bridgend Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership to keep people and communities safe from crime.
The week focused on work being done to tackle local crime, robbery, burglary, anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and drug and alcohol misuse. Residents were given easy access to crime information and statistics, and were encouraged to get involved in seeing through better accountability for the neighbourhood policing teams.
Click here to view Nantymoel Primary school photos
Click here to view Pen Y Fai primary school photos
