Residents meet with police to discuss spate of anti-social behaviour in Llangennech

A meeting of Llangennech residents was held at the Llangennech Rugby Club on Wednesday, (Mar 27) to discuss a spate of anti-social behaviour in the area.

Around 30 residents attended along with two PCSOs,  a Police Sergeant, Community Councillor Nikki Lloyd and County Councillor Gary Jones.

The Police Sergeant took a few questions but had to leave early as he had to respond to an emergency

The PCSOs gave the statistics for reporting anti-social behaviour, and this amounted to 7 calls to the 101 police line from January until today. The PCSOs said that they were aware of all the serious incidents in the village recently and were in touch with parents. They said that in most cases letters have been physically handed over to parents.

Attendees heard that the main incidents have been vandalism of the defibrillator box at the park, a door being repeatedly kicked, resulting in damage to the frame  and damage to car bonnets.

Many residents have taken to social media to expose their anti-social behaviour but they have been advised not to do this in case of repraisals.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The meeting heard that the Police are adopting the approach of speaking with parents hoping that the parents accept responsibility for their children’s actions and pay for any damages incurred.

The logic behind the approach is that it would mean that the youth would not generate a criminal record, that may have repercussions in later life. However, if this does not happen, then the Police sergeant assured attendees that a criminal investigation would take place.

There followed a free discussion with contributions from Nia, Nikki Lloyd, Gary Jones and others on the recent events in the village. There were many observations and suggestions and it was pointed out that the schools are regularly giving talks about anti-social issues.

Nikki told the meeting that the Community Council are looking to place CCTV in the park, using funds from next year’s budget.

The practical solutions to report anti-social behaviour were agreed upon and are listed as follows:
1. Phone 101
2. Report instances on the Dyfed-Powys website
3 Report on the Dyfed-Powys Facebook Page ( this is secure)
4 Form a Neighbourhood watch group for your area ( Nia will set one up for Station Rd
5 form a WhatsApp group with your neighbours
6 Contact Councillor Gary Jones directly, and he will pass on information directly to the PCSOs

One thing to avoid is posting on social media and naming or showing images, as the youths involved monitor this platform and you could be targeted.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Nia thanked all who attended and the meeting was closed.

We contacted Dyfed-Powys Police for a comment and to ask what measures were being taken to address the issues in Llangennech. We have not received a response.