Gwent Police deliver home security improvements to residents in Pillgwenlly and Rhymney

Residents in Pillgwenlly and Rhymney are receiving home security improvements this month as part of Gwent Police’s Safer Streets initiative.

Officers visited households in each area in September 2021 to introduce the crime prevention project, give home security advice and assess whether additional security measures, including improved door and window locks, dusk-to-dawn security lighting and residential CCTV doorbell systems, could be installed at their addresses.

The home security work, which comes at no cost to the resident, began in Rhymney in January, while installations started in Pillgwenlly this week.

At present, over 380 properties across the two areas have signed up to receive home security improvements.
The works are funded through £699,564 of Home Office funding granted to the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent to deliver crime prevention measures in Pillgwenlly and the Moriah, Pontlottyn and Twyn Carno wards of Rhymney in Caerphilly.

Officers are using the funds to help tackle neighbourhood crimes like burglary, robbery, and vehicle crime. As well as offering and installing home security measures to those who need them, the force has installed additional CCTV cameras in Rhymney, delivered crime prevention packs and shared crime prevention advice with residents.

The packs, put together by the force’s innovative We Don’t Buy Crime team, contain a property marking pen which enables residents to mark their valuable possessions with a clear, yet traceable, ink. When used alongside the signage within the pack, it helps deter theft but also makes the items more likely to be found and returned if stolen.

Deputy Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, the force’s lead on tackling acquisitive crime, said: “It’s important local residents feel safe in their homes and the areas in which they live.
“The Safer Streets project is enabling us to offer additional security measures to those who need them in Pillgwenlly and Rhymney.

“Improved door locks, more CCTV, additional street lighting and crime prevention packs are just some of the ways local officers are tackling neighbourhood crimes in this Safer Streets project.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Jeff Cuthbert said: “A key part of my new Police and Crime Plan is to keep neighbours safe by tackling crime and anti-social behaviour that impacts the safety and well-being of communities. Every day, Gwent Police’s neighbourhood teams work in the heart of communities to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, while tackling offending where it does occur. Acquisitive crime – such as robbery, burglary and theft – public order offences and criminal damage are corrosive to the safety and well-being of communities.

“This Safer Streets funding in Pillgwenlly and Rhymney is seeing residents receive home security advice and additional security measures, to protect and reassure them. We will continue to work with our community safety partners to target those who offend persistently, embed best practice crime prevention measures, and build on the good work Gwent Police is delivering every day to make our neighbourhoods in Gwent safer.”

For more on Gwent Police’s work to tackle neighbourhood crime, visit https://www.gwent.police.uk/police-forces/gwent-police/areas/campaigns/campaigns/2021/safer-streets.