The top police officer who oversees policing in Wales’ two biggest cities has issued a warning about the dangers to women and girls over the Christmas period. South Wales Police Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan said the force was concerned about violence against women and girls in our town and city centres.
South Wales Police is responsible for policing in Cardiff, Swansea and major towns including Bridgend, Barry, Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd and Aberdare. The force is putting in operations that will see both uniformed officers and plain-clothed staff out on the streets to keep people safe.
Mr Vaughan said there would be people in our town and city centres who “attempt to spoil it for others”. He said: “People who drink too much, people who prey on those people who are vulnerable, and people who steal. So, they’re the kind of things that we’re concerned about.
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“We’re concerned about violence against women and girls in our town and city centres, we’re concerned about domestic abuse violence. So, what we’re focused on is making sure that we keep people safe, we want to encourage people to enjoy themselves and we remove those people who would attempt to spoil it for everybody.”
There are several operations in place targeting predatory behaviour, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour, and to ensure people’s safety. The 51-year-old said: “Operation Mistletoe is the one we use for shoplifting, Operation Minerva is the one we use where we’ve got plainclothes officers patrolling our streets looking for people who are demonstrating predatory behaviour and maybe preying on those that are vulnerable.”
He said student safety buses would also be out in the middle of cities. And he asked people to report wrongdoing to officers out on the street, door staff in licensed premises but also through online channels.
He said: “Go to our website and you’ll see a list of other agencies that you can contact to go for help. So all these things together mean that we people should feel confident to report to us. I don’t underestimate how difficult that is in certain circumstances, but please, please report things.”
He urged people to come forward to protect not just themselves but others, saying: “It’s really important for me to protect the individual who reports it by investigating it, but also to protect other individuals who might be subject of harm from the same perpetrator.” And he said that people would not have to go into a police station but could contact the force online in confidence.
Wind Street in Swansea -Credit:John Myers
Mr Vaughan said the force also took antisocial behaviour very seriously. He said: “Part of it is making sure that we work with shops and premises that are victims of theft themselves to make sure that they help us prevent crime by not allowing people in, by employing staff on doors, by employing security. So all these things taken together mean that we are taking ASB[anti social behaviour], particularly in our towns and our cities, really seriously.”
The force’s Operation Minerva will see plain clothes officers in and around city centres, who will be on the look-out for those exhibiting predatory behaviours. The Dyfed Powys Police have launched a similar pilot which will see plain-clothes officers going to busy pubs and clubs in part of Wales in a bid to stop sexual offences against women. More on this can be found here. However, Jeremy Vaughan said that South Wales Police’s operation is different and has been in place for many years.
He said: ”It’s a different operation. We’ve been doing it for a number of years, so it’s not a new operation for us. We’ve had plainclothes officers in our town and city centres looking out for people who may be vulnerable, but also people who may be demonstrating predatory behaviour, to watch out for them.
“They’re not in police uniform, so they blend in a little better. They have radios so they can speak to other police officers and watch out for individuals who we might need to have a word with and/or removed from the streets if we think they are going to prey on individuals. This is not a new operation for us. We’ve been doing it for a number of years to protect people.” He said they would be looking out for crimes like drink spiking and check that people were not preying on the vulnerable.
The Chief Constable admitted that the challenges facing the police force are plenty but the force is still managing itself well. He said: ”The list is a long one. Demand for services, we get 80 calls an hour into South Wales Police, we get 699 calls every day, we get 1,300 rapes reported every year. So demand, the available resources to meet those competing demands because, of course, there’s lots of offending and offences that are very different now than it was when I joined nearly 30 years ago.
“We’re doing pretty well as an organisation. So if you are the victim of a rape, you are the victim of a robbery, or the victim of a burglary, you’ll get better outcomes here than anywhere else in England and Wales. We’re setting a really high standard, so we’re doing well. But demand for services and the fact that all too often, we step into providing services that maybe other agencies haven’t got the capacity to provide means that it’s a really busy time for us at this time of year.”
Mr Vaughan believes that South Wales Police is doing well compared to other forces but admits that it’s only gotten more difficult over the years. He said: “Compared to many forces, we’re doing pretty well. So the independent assessments of us across a whole host of different measures mean that we’re operating and performing pretty well. So I’m really proud of the officers and the staff working for South Wales Police. But I can’t pretend it’s not tough. This is my fifth Christmas in charge as chief, this is my 29th year in policing and I’ve got more grey hairs now than when I started.”
Asked what his message was for people going out this Christmas he said: ”If you’re going out and you are determined to spoil other people’s Christmases, then we will find you, and if we find you, we will bring the full force of the law and justice to account for you. So that is, if you decide to drink-drive, and you put your life, and the life of loved ones at risk. If you steal from people who work hard to buy things… if you assault people on the street, the police will be there to take you away and protect the public.”