IN January this year, police were fielding dozens of calls about children smashing the windows of derelict buildings, throwing stones and hanging from scaffolding in Ringland.

But the problems have suddenly decreased. JEN MILLS went out on patrol to find out how Gwent Police is dealing with the problem.

A row of garages and a block of disused flats near Cot Farm Circle once used by council tenants had become a hotspot for trouble, with youngsters trying to get inside to drink alcohol in a sheltered place.

Police said “anything could happen” - they were worried the youths might even burn down the buildings if nothing was done.

But now the number of calls from the public has dramatically reduced, and officers say this is down to a common-sense approach simply fencing off the problem areas.

Inspector Kevin Warren, in charge of policing for the whole of Newport East, said people reported 52 incidents of antisocial behaviour across Ringland in January. In February the figure rose to 54, falling to 41 in March.

But so far in April, there have been only 14 reports, despite this period covering fine weather and the Easter holidays when police would normally expect an increase.

And there have been zero calls relating to the flats and garages behind the Ringland Centre which had been such a problem before.

Mr Warren said he wanted to go to the root cause of the antisocial behaviour - the dangerous derelict buildings - rather than just reactively responding to call-outs.

Many of the garages had doors hanging from their hinges and were filled with rubbish which could be a fire risk, as well as hanging wires and hazardous broken planks.

“What we couldn’t accept was whoever let that happen – they have a duty of care,” he said. “We were aware people were playing in those buildings. We needed to ensure they didn’t hurt themselves.”

So he contacted Newport City Homes who owned the buildings and asked them to do something. Around a month ago, fencing went up across all the garage doors and contractors also put up high metal fences around the maisonettes.

Another way local officers have tried to deal with problems in Ringland is withy ‘dispersal orders’ becoming more familiar to people. Legislation allows police to put a zone in place where they can tell troublemakers that if they come back within a certain time frame they risk arrest.

‘Family behaviour contracts’ are another tool in the arsenal, which aim to get parents signed up to making sure their teens aren’t causing disruption.

“Some parents are rather reluctant to participate in the process”, Mr Warren conceded. “ For example, they will say ‘That’s not my child – my child would never do that.’”

But for the most part parents are keen to play their role, he said.

Another blackspot for reports of antisocial behaviour in Ringland was the square outside the shopping centre, Mr Warren said. People used to run through it, drink and disturb residents living above the shops. But since gates were installed making it possible to lock the area at night, problems have decreased there as well.

Mr Warren cautioned that sometimes people reported antisocial behaviour when there wasn’t actually a problem. “I’m not moving on a group of kids playing football”, he said. “For example, just because you’ve got eight to ten youths walking down the street, that’s not antisocial behaviour. If you’ve got eight to ten youths doing damage to fences, that could be antisocial behaviour and criminal damage. It’s about perception as well. You can’t demonise all youths.”