Police bring in aeroplanes to tackle crime in lawless district of city
South Wales Police are now working with members of the community in Gabalfa, Cardiff, after they complained their area has become overrun by disorder and violence
Aeroplanes are being used to help tackle crime in an area of a city which residents say has become overrun by disorder and violence.
Residents in Gabalfa, Cardiff, say living there is "harder than ever" following a purported rise in thefts, anti-social behaviour and violence towards police officers. Officers recently had granted powers to have the authority to stop and search anyone on the estate but now they’ve strengthened their operation further.
National Police Aircraft Service has assisted South Wales Police in the last week by flying planes over Gabalfa to monitor and record behaviour. The force said no one in the area should feel "intimidated" on its streets.
But Ahmad Muhammad, who works at a shop on the estate, said he saw a Deliveroo rider have his bike stolen and young people have also scared elderly customers who use his store.
He said: "A few weeks ago a Deliveroo rider was here and picking something up and his bike got taken. He was obviously upset. People’s cars have been damaged out here too. It’s always been a little bit of a problem but now it’s pretty bad and it’s getting worse slowly, slowly.
"We did ring the police all the time but what happens is the police come and move them on and then they come back in 20 minutes. What happens is older people especially don’t want to come out anymore and they don’t come to the shop because they’re petrified. It’s because these guys are hanging in front of the doors in balaclavas and that. They do look intimidating and they’re riding bikes which I imagine are illegal on the roads. They’re very fast and they ride them on the paths. People are scared their money could get taken or anything could happen really, so mostly they just don’t come to the shops anymore."
Chris Stephens, who lives in the area, is annoyed with the levels of crime ( Image: John Myers)
Another man told Wales Online he regularly watches out of his window as teens ride mopeds straight over a roundabout in front of his house with no concern for motorists. Another said he and his wife were often unable to sleep due to “screaming and shouting in the street until the early hours”.
Chris Stephens, who lives in the Lydstep Flats in the heart of what residents say is the most problematic area for police, said: "On the avenue now there are six or seven of them - and that’s on a weekday afternoon. Our bedroom faces the football pitch and they go in there in the early hours of the morning and keep us awake at all hours. My wife has dementia, the lady upstairs has had a major stroke - you’ve a lot of elderly people in that block and something has to be done. I wish people who could really make a difference lived down here and experienced what we experience every day.
"There are gangs of these people riding around on electric bikes and they have balaclavas on. We’re getting to the stage where people are becoming too frightened by it to leave their homes. We don’t use those shops in Gabalfa anymore, we go to the supermarket to get milk instead. That’s how bad this is. People living here can’t live a normal life. This isn’t just a one off. It’s been happening for years but it’s definitely the worst it’s been now. They put cameras around but it does not faze them. I wonder how bad it’s going to get unless they get a grip on it. There was a police van here the other day and they were getting a load of abuse and nothing got done. They just don’t care who you are. The parents must be as bad as they are."
One young mother said she was intimidated to walk into the shops and regularly sees people swapping drugs in the area, while an elderly woman said she had lived in Gabalfa for 54 years and she’d “never known it as bad as this”. A mother-of-four who has lived beside Lydstep Flats for 10 years and also didn’t want to be named said her children want to stay in the house because they are so intimidated by what is happening.
She said: "When my children go to the park they come back and say they’ve been abused for no reason. It’s like a gang mentality. You just think to yourself: ‘Where on earth are the parents of these young people and what must they think?’ My two sons are 19 and 20 and both have special needs and they won’t even think of going anywhere where they’re hanging about. They’d never go to the shops. It’s awful that they have to live like that. When we first moved here it was nothing like this. It’s genuinely scary now and it’s destructive for the area."
One man said he’d never known as much of a police presence in Gabalfa as there has been in recent weeks. “Problems with drugs and the kids on the bikes have been happening in Gabalfa for years,” he said. “People aren’t stupid. We know they’re around here because they’re getting what they want here. They just ride around doing what they want. One of them rides his moped around here and rides it straight over the middle of the roundabout without a care in the world. The police seem to be trying to have a presence in the area, but they’ll never stop the drugs. It’s not possible. It’s good to see the police here though and hopefully it helps the poor folk down by the shops and in the flats. It’s really terrible for them down there.”
Gangs of youths often loiter by shops on the estate, it is said ( Image: John Myers)
Chief Inspector Stuart McDean said: “We are aware of the issues that residents in Gabalfa have been experiencing. South Wales Police vehicles have also been targeted over the past few weeks. This is a situation that simply will not be tolerated and in response to these issues, officers have been carrying out high visibility patrols and speaking with residents, who will notice that our presence has been stepped up with help from mounted officers and traffic units.
“Recently a section 60 was put in place to give officers the authority to stop and search anyone on the estate – we won’t hesitate to use the powers available to us as and when we need. Our priority is to ensure that everybody is able to feel safe and go about their daily business in Gabalfa without feeling intimidated, and we will continue to work tirelessly to apprehend those who are causing problems. The community plays an important part and anybody who has concerns or information is urged to contact us.”
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