LAST January chief constable Mike Tonge set out his aims for the following 12 months - and a key ambition was to bring police officers closer to the community in a bid to crack down on problems such as anti-social behaviour.

Mr Tonge says the force has achieved its target of setting up neighbourhood policing teams ahead of the government deadline of 2008.

He said: "We are well ahead of the game. We had neighbourhood policing teams in every ward across Gwent by September. "We now have 300 staff, including 150 police officers and 80 special officers.

"The more services that can be delivered locally the more effectively we can deal with those problems."

Problems which include of course anti-social behaviour, an issue affecting many Gwent communities.

Mr Tonge said the force is tough on offenders, taking out 90 Anti-Social Behaviour Orders last year alone.

He said: "The most important thing to the people in the communities is quality of life. People want sterner and harsher penalties and I understand that.

"But there are a lot of myths in the public perception of ASBOs. They are just the tip of the iceberg. Before that there is all sorts of work that goes on."

Magistrates are often criticised for not being tough enough on those who break ASBOs, but Mr Tonge said: "I think courts have been pretty tough with ASBOs.

"The courts are very supportive in taking ASBOs out. The alternative was to send them to prison.

"The fact is the prison service is under pressure. No work is done in prisons. Nothing is done about their behaviour, no rehabilitation." Although violent crime in Gwent fell last year by 4.8 per cent, it is still one of the biggest issues for Gwent police, with more incidents of violent crime than house burglary and vehicle crime combined.

Drink-fuelled violence is something Mr Tonge is keen to stamp out. He said: "People who fear violent crime the most are the elderly.

"The people who don't fear it are the 18 - 25 age group - the most at risk, especially because of drinking and fighting.

"We are doing a lot of work in Newport, working with licensees on the design of premises, making sure their door staff are fully trained to deal with any problems."

On the subject of pubs and licensing, Mr Tonge said that Gwent police have seen a reduction in incidents of disorder, especially in Newport, since the new licensing laws were introduced.

He said: "It's early days, but we have seen a reduction in problems. "We are reassuring people that we are out there and visible but we need to look at the impact of the new laws longer term.

"However if the trends continue as they are at the moment things are looking pretty good."

An area of particular concern to Gwent police is the rise of armed crime, in particular gun crime.

Last year, there were also a number of armed robberies where imitation firearms were used. Guns were also used on the streets of Pill along with other weapons when a Somali gang attacked two Jamaican men in a row over drugs.

Mr Tonge said: "We have not seen some of the more worrying trends but we are not complacent.

"Gun crime is one of the key areas in our strategy and one we are monitoring very closely.

"Working with our community leaders we stand more chance of solving it. "We set up an independent advisory group made up of various ethnic groups to work on the issue of armed crime."

In 2005 Mr Tonge promised to give the public what it wants, and in 2006 he is promising more of the same.

"We will continue building on neighbourhood policing teams and building contacts with local communities and acting on their wishes and concerns," he said.

"We want to improve our communications and get more information out. "The biggest thing is improving the quality of policing to the public who pay our wages."