Policing the Vale of Glamorgan
By Inspector Mark Henderson.
How local officers made plans to make Halloween a fun event
I am Mark Henderson – the Neighbourhood Inspector with the responsibility for neighbourhood policing matters in Barry and the Vale.
In the run up to Halloween, we often see an increase in anti-social behaviour. Neighbourhood teams across Barry and the Vale engaged with local shops, schools and other organisations by delivering letters and posters encouraging shops not to sell eggs and flour to young people.
I’m pleased to say that the Barry Island Fireworks celebrations, which took place unusually early this year on Friday, 29 October, passed without incident. Likewise, the Halloween celebrations across the Vale also took place without incident.
On Thursday, 27 October, the Vale neighbourhood policing team organised a joint fun day along with the fire service and coastguard at the joint emergency services station in Llantwit Major. More than 100 people attended, mostly families and teenagers. The children loved seeing South Wales Police mascot ‘Billy Blue’ who was greeting them at the gates.
The fire service and coastguard set up and demonstrated their impressive equipment. We had four very special guests from the SWP dog and horse section, PD Jax and Scout and PH Cobblestone and Bodie, who came along with their handlers and were very popular with visitors.
The Roads Policing Unit also came along and were able to display the range of equipment carried when dealing with Road Traffic Collisions, and local neighbourhood officers gave out ‘Operation Bang’ leaflets highlighting the #it’snotfunforeveryone message, as well as information on rural crime prevention.
The visitors enjoyed sitting in the vehicles and trying on some of the police uniform. The children were given police helmets to take home along with other Halloween-related treats including sweets kindly donated by Co-op Llantwit Major and St Athan.
Officers from the joint emergency services station enjoyed meeting residents from the local communities and will be planning a bigger event in the rural vale for Summer 2023.
🌟 This article first appeared in the printed edition of the Glamorgan Star on 06.11.22. Read it in print first!
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