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Gwent Police is upping patrols to tackle seasonal crimes such as shop thefts, road offences and antisocial behaviour over the Christmas period.

The force said it will carry out extra patrols in “hotspot” areas across the region as part of Operation Lockwood.

Neighbourhood policing lead, Chief Superintendent Jason White, said the police’s visible enforcement, locally-tailored approaches, and partnership working across areas hit by shoplifting and antisocial behaviour has shown positive results.

He said: “Both our chief constable and police and crime commissioner are united in their commitment to increasing visible policing in our neighbourhoods, which has been evidenced by the creation of a new proactive policing team, an increase in patrols in hotspot areas and continued work with partners to tackle the issues our communities say are affecting them.

“The recent introduction of a new community messaging service – Neighbourhood Matters – is helping to improve our knowledge of local issues and ensure our officers are where residents need us most, while the delivery of a crime prevention programme is helping residents and businesspeople alike protect themselves from acquisitive crimes like burglary and theft.”

It follows the Home Office’s nationwide ‘Safer Streets Summer Initiative’, which was carried out in nearly 650 town centres across the UK earlier this year, resulting in 16,000 arrests and fines – mostly for shop theft and antisocial behaviour.

Ch Supt White continued: “Building on a positive summer, neighbourhood policing teams across Gwent are now carrying out locally tailored operations to crack down on rising crime trends.

“For example, officers in Blackwood continue to conduct a mixture of visible and plain-clothed operations on the high street and have carried out numerous stop searches, seized several bikes and e-scooters and made arrests.”

He added: “At a time when we typically see offences like parcel thefts, thefts from vehicles and shoplifting increasing, our We Don’t Buy Crime team has also been out across Gwent delivering an array of crime prevention sessions to help people protect their vehicles, tools and belongings.”