IN the second a series of articles marking Not In My Neighbourhood Week, Jane Helmich looks at what is being done to make Newport a better and safer place to live.

Today, how the authorities are getting to grips with the scourge of anti-social behaviour and hate crime.

TACKLING anti-social behaviour in Newport is one of the city council’s key concerns.

Community safety wardens carry out immediate response patrols to non-criminal incidents and anti-social behaviour that would not attract an emergency response from the police. This includes incidents of street nuisance by gangs of young people or neighbour disputes over issues such as excessive noise. In most cases the wardens are able to stop the nuisance at the scene without the need for any further action. This is an almost unique service provided by Newport City Council to its residents.

However, there are cases where the wardens cannot resolve the issue immediately and more substantial evidence is needed.

Earlier in the year this happened in the Gaer area where some residents felt intimidated by gangs of drunken youths.

To tackle the problem, community safety wardens mounted a joint operation with the police and trading standards using hidden CCTV cameras to identify the culprits so that enforcement action could be taken.

Targeting under-age drinkers and antisocial behaviour, it was believed to be one of the largest operations of its kind in Wales, certainly the biggest of its kind in Newport.

Over four weekends, 193 different offences were caught on camera leading to prosecutions, cautions, ASBOs, on-the-spot fines, acceptable behaviour contracts, alcohol confiscations, home visits and warning letters to parents.

Cllr David Fouweather, cabinet member for environment and community safety, said: "The behaviour of these individuals was shocking and had been blighting the lives of people living in this area.

"The message is clear - we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour and will be targeting both the perpetrators and the traders who are selling alcohol to them."

Similar operations are planned for other anti-social behaviour hotspots around the city.

"The message to anyone who commits anti-social behaviour in Newport is clear - Not in My Neighbourhood."

New hate crime website launched

Newport Hate Crime Forum online reporting website was officially launched this month.

The council, through the forum to counter hate crime, wants to know of any such incidents in the city. Reporting incidents is important and it is now even easier thanks to the online form.

They can help deal with the incident and gather intelligence information to prevent future incidents.

A hate crime incident is any offence committed against a person or property, which is motivated by the offender’s hatred of people because they are seen as being different.

People can be a victim of hate crime based on race, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation or gender identity.

An incident may be physical, verbal or written, including threatening a person, offensive language, isolation from social events or activities, offensive graffiti, hate mail and harassment.

Anyone can report a hate crime, and it can be done anonymously, to 01633 656656, email info@newport.gov.uk or visit www.newport.gov.uk for more information.