Op Restore launched to combat serious violence and ASB

North Wales Police will implement enhanced measures to combat serious violence and anti-social behaviour across the region.

Over the next 12 months, significant additional patrol resources will be assigned to areas with higher incidences of these offence types.

Named ‘Op Restore’, this enhanced operational capability has been facilitated by Home Office funding as part of its ‘Hotspot Response’ initiative.     

Cumulatively, more than £66 million will be distributed among all UK police forces as part of this scheme.

In accordance with the size of its force area, North Wales Police has been assigned a £1 million grant aimed specifically at eradicating ASB and serious violence in problem areas.

A total of 28 hotspots across all NWP districts have been identified after detailed consultation with District Inspectors.

Additional patrols have already begun in many of these areas across the force, with the following areas all forming part of this initiative: Bangor, Caernarfon, Holyhead, Llandudno, Colwyn Bay, Pensarn, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Holywell, Flint, Mold, Buckley, and Wrexham.

Chief Inspector Matt Geddes is NWP’s force lead for Op Restore and hopes that communities across the region will benefit.                                                   

He said: "Fundamentally, the key objectives of Op Restore align fully with the aims of North Wales Police.

"Being visible and engaging with our communities, a focus on preventing and reducing crime, and providing an excellent service to victims are all key considerations within this operational work.

"Piloted programmes elsewhere in the UK have yielded highly positive outcomes in terms of reducing levels of ASB and violent crime, and we should expect this to impact just as significantly here in North Wales.

“We now have operational patrols and analytical support up and running across the force area.

"Ultimately, the success of Op Restore across the next 12 months will depend on ensuring that the right areas are resourced adequately.

“Naturally, we will continually review the crime data from these targeted areas and tailor our operational response appropriately and proportionately.

"An enhanced uniformed presence in these areas, which will target all forms of ASB and serious violence specifically, should yield a significant reduction in recorded crime overall.

"This high-visibility proactive patrolling will be supported by force and local level problem-solving approaches to tackle some of the drivers behind this type of offending with partners.

“The aim is to deliver high impact changes with long term outcomes for the communities of North Wales.

“As a force, we will also endeavour keep the people of North Wales informed with regular updates around Op Restore on our external news channels.”