What is being done to tackle the anti-social behaviour problem on the streets of Flintshire?

Since the first lockdown was imposed, and the country was ordered to stay at home unless absolutely essential, North Wales Police recorded almost 2,900 cases of ASB from across the Flintshire towns and villages they serve up to December 2020.

ASB covers a wide range of things – from vandalism and graffiti to street drinking and nuisance neighbours to name just a few

Hundreds of complaints came in to the force each month as new rules and laws were brought in to suppress the deadly virus in circulation.

Figures extracted from local crime reports then turned into interactive maps by Police.UK highlight where the issues were most serious between the full months of April and December 2020.

Analysing every policing ward in Flintshire, it has been possible to pinpoint where people continue to find this kind of behaviour acceptable:

4 & 5) Mold Broncoed / Holywell Central

Jointly making the top five areas, both Mold Broncoed and Holywell Central reported a total of 114 occurrences of ASB since the first lockdown was brought upon the country.

Broncoed residents consistently reported an average of 12 incidents a month since April.

Data shows the worst month in this part of Mold was September with 22 individual reports – accounting for more than half (51 per cent) of all reported crime in the area that month.

Meanwhile, Holywell’s town centre was where most of its ASB has been reported to North Wales Police.

Locals reported the same number of cases to the authorities from across the ward area as the world ensured the pandemic. The numbers show that August was the worst part of the year on record as, in total, 20 reports were made in the space of a month.

Interestingly, figures from the same period in 2019 show this is a slight improvement for the town centre – which reported 119 cases between the previous April and December.

3) Connah’s Quay Golftyn

Over to Deeside and, in Connah’s Quay Golftyn, their residents told the police about 122 incidents of ASB happening on their doorsteps since March.

Data shows the locals were plagued most with troublemakers in October with 21 calls made.

2) Connah’s Quay Central

Sticking in Connah’s Quay, the central area of the town also saw a large portion of the wider county’s problem.

In all, 152 reports of ASB were made from the area since COVID-19 hit.

The numbers show that the sunny summer proved best for rule breakers as August was in fact the worst month on record for people to cause a nuisance as 24 reports were made in the space of a month.

1) Sealand

Topping the table, Sealand was the part of the county reporting the most anti-social behaviour to the police.

Over the course of the pandemic in 2020, concerned residents raised an alarm on 162 occasions. This was exactly double the number of reports that made it to police in the same period of time back in 2019.

September was the worst hit month for Sealand – reporting 32 cases in the space of a month – more than enough for one report every day.

Diving deeper into the map, Garden City seemed to be the main hub of ASB in the area.

The Leader has previously reported that local councillor Christine Jones remains worried about the level of trouble coming to the area, adding that some elderly Garden City residents were experiencing problems on an almost nightly basis.

Here is the data in full...

How does your local area compare below?

Using the chart below, we can also see how the top five 'hotspots' compare through the lockdown months...

So what are the police doing about it?

FOUR out of the five areas worst hit in Flintshire for ASB fall under the watch of the North Flintshire policing team.

Overseeing the division looking to wipe ASB from the streets is recently appointed North Flintshire Inspector Stephen Roberts.

He made a pledge to crack down on this kind of unacceptable behaviour across the district before it escalates into further crime.

Addressing the issue at hand, he said: “I think that it is conceivable that the lockdowns may well have seen an increase in reported ASB, as more people are at home for longer.

“There may be a reduction in footfall generally in our communities but with more people taking daily walks may have potentially increased the number of reports about issues that may be new or may have been in existence for a while.”

Inspector Stephen Roberts [INSET] vows to tackle anti-social behaviour on the streets of Flintshire - but needs your help to do it.

As always, the police cannot act if they do not know and public support is vital when it comes to eradicating this kind of crime.

Insp Roberts continued: “From a Neighbourhood policing perspective, it is my want that if anyone has any information about ASB that they let us know. Once we know we can start to deal.

“I feel that early intervention into ASB is important as it provides us with the opportunity to support our communities when they need supporting the most and to include our partners in a joint response; problem solving is best achieved with a partnership approach.

“So please let us know of any issues and the team from your area will be in touch.”

You can report anti-social behaviour online to North Wales Police via their website - www.northwales.police.uk/ro/report/asb/asb/report-antisocial-behaviour. Alternatively, you can call them using the 101 service.