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Sixty-three people have been arrested and 21 weapons seized as part of a police operation to tackle antisocial behaviour in ‘hotspot’ areas.

The operation has been running since April as part of a Home Office scheme, with Gwent Police targeting 18 ‘hotspot’ areas across Gwent – including two in Caerphilly County Borough.

The scheme sees officers deployed more often to patrol areas affected by higher rates of disorderly behaviour.

As well as targeting offenders, the patrols are aimed at deterring future antisocial and criminal behaviour.

Between April and October, Gwent Police officers, sergeants, and community support officers spent a combined extra 2,853 hours patrolling hotspot areas across Gwent, including in Blackwood and the Moriah area, which covers Abertysswg and large part of Rhymney.

Chief Superintendent Carl Williams, Gwent Police’s lead on antisocial behaviour and harm reduction, said: “During the first six months of the operation, across the 18 areas in which we’ve increased patrols in we’ve recorded around 10% fewer incidents of antisocial behaviour when compared to the same period last year.

“It’s important we build on this and continue to robustly respond to incidents causing residents concern.”

He continued: “We want Gwent to be a place where people always feel safe, and will continue to speak to our communities to ensure we’ve a good understanding of the type of behaviour impacting them. This ensures we patrol the right areas, at the right times, and enables us to plan further work target offenders or prevent incidents in the first instance.”