Meet the new Superintendent leading policing in Gwynedd and Anglesey

A Superintendent has vowed to pursue anyone exploiting vulnerable people and increase visibility in areas of concentrated crime.

Arwel Hughes is the new Superintendent covering Gwynedd and Anglesey.

He started the role in January and leads the local policing teams and Criminal Investigation Department.

Speaking following his first month in the role, he said: “My focus going forward is tackling serious and organised crime.

“I want to put more resource into targeting and eliminating those who are exploiting vulnerable people in our area.

“I have already started plans on this locally and I look forward to speaking about this in more detail very soon.”

Superintendent Hughes, a first language Welsh speaker, was born and raised in Anglesey and has spent a lot of his career working in the Northwest of Wales.

He began his career in the police in 2008 as a PCSO in Holyhead.

Over the years he moved onto the role of police officers and has worked across various roles such as local policing, Criminal Investigation Department, proactive policing and more recently on national work.

He continued: “I have been travelling across the area to meet with the teams and community partners to understand the areas of concern.

“I’m pleased to see some fantastic results coming through and great proactive work going on across the districts, for example, a vehicle that was stopped and searched on the A55 resulted in half a kilogram of suspected cocaine being seized, preventing vulnerable residents from being targeted and exploited.

“Further positive arrests in January related to offences including domestic abuse, assaults, drug driving and sexual offences, all of which contribute to a safer place to live, work and visit.”

Superintendent Hughes said the priority for local policing teams is to increase visibility in areas of concentrated crime and continue a high standard of investigation, particularly in areas of burglary, domestic abuse, serious violences, sexual offences and robbery.

“I’ve enjoyed hearing from community members, and I am keen to continue working closely with the community over the coming months to tackle what matters most to you,” he added.

If you have concerns about your area that you’d like to speak to police about, contact us via our website, or by calling 101.