30 November 2007
Caerphilly town centre is to experience a flurry of activity in the run up to Christmas as part of a partnership drive to tackle crime and anti social behaviour in the area.
Caerphilly is the latest town centre to benefit from a special Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership initiative called CANDO (Community and Neighbourhood Directed Operations), which has already seen positive results across the county borough, including the recent operation in Blackwood town centre which led to many positive outcomes.
The Caerphilly CANDO operation will target a range of issues identified by local people including:
- Youth nuisance - particularly in local parks and town centre ‘hot spots’
- Under age drinking across the town centre
- Car nuisance - particularly speeding and congregation of vehicles
- Business crime - shoplifting and criminal damage
- Litter and graffiti
- Night-time anti-social behaviour - particularly alcohol and drug related
- Parking problems - especially on residential streets
CCBC cabinet member for the environment, Cllr David Poole, welcomed the initiative, “Caerphilly’s many attractions draw tens of thousands of shoppers, visitors and tourists each year so we are keen to tackle any problems that may tarnish the area’s image. The partnership has worked with the community to identify a range of key problems and we will now work together during the month-long operation.”
Inspector Brandon Williams, said: “The CANDO is a positive initiative enabling the police to work with Caerphilly council and the Safer Caerphilly Partnership to tackle local issues that have been raised by members of the public. We will be targeting concerns, such as underage drinking, graffiti, youth nuisance and alcohol-related disorder in the run-up to Christmas. By working in partnership we can undertake a co-ordinated approach to help limit or diffuse any potential crime and disorder, particularly at what is traditionally a busy time of year.”
The CANDO initiative started in 2005 to tackle areas identified by the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership, as affected by anti-social crime and behaviour.
CANDO is delivered by the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership, which is made up of five organisations: Caerphilly County Borough Council; Gwent Police; the Police Authority; South Wales Fire and Rescue and Caerphilly Local Health Board. The partnership tackles crime, anti-social behaviour, the fear of crime and substance misuse in the area.
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