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North Wales Live
02-07-2025
- North Wales Live
Anti-social behaviour is on the decline in North Wales, policing boss says
Anti-social behaviour in North Wales is on the downturn, says the area's police and crime commissioner after visiting towns across the region. A report to the North Wales Police and Crime Panel backed the claims and was presented to members at a meeting at Conwy 's Coed Pella HQ. The report from North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin says anti-social behaviour (ASB) is down by 4.6% from last year, whilst police attendance at incidents had increased by 5%. Earlier this year, Mr Dunbobbin attended a Llandudno residents' meeting organised by Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders after a spate of vandalism in the resort. Gangs of youths had been accused of smashing up shelters on the promenade, stealing from hotels, and vandalising Venue Cymru. Mrs Finch-Saunders and Mr Dunbobbin later rowed, disputing crime figures in the town, with the commissioner complaining about Mrs Finch-Saunders instructing residents to log incidents with her office. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. But presenting to the panel, Mr Dunbobbin explained he had attended a Home Office briefing in May on keeping town centres safe as part of a neighbourhood policing campaign. He also revealed he'd visited towns across North Wales, including Llandudno. 'Over the last six months, I have been proactive in engaging with local communities to listen to concerns affecting them around ASB, including visits to Prestatyn, Llandudno, Llangefni, and Buckley,' said Mr Dunbobbin. 'In addition, I have also been out on patrol with officers in Holyhead and Deeside to understand how local police teams are tackling ASB and also joined a sergeant on patrol in Rhyl, during ASB Awareness week, to look at how they are implementing the Clear Hold Build approach to tackling ASB and low-level crime there.' He added: 'Analysis of ASB shows that incidents have reduced by 4.6% this year across North Wales compared to last year; low level behaviours continue to account for most events. Although recorded incidents have reduced, attendance has increased by 5%, and I hope this shows the level of policing commitment to victims of ASB.' The commissioner also revealed he had visited Rhosmeirch, Anglesey, in February, where police had put in place a 'community alert messaging system'. The crime commissioner's report also detailed £92,080.94 – increasing to £200K in 2025/26 – to fund various community schemes aimed at reducing anti-social behaviour, including the relaunch of a 'Summer Sports' project for young people during school holidays.
North Wales Live
02-07-2025
- Politics
- North Wales Live
'The smell in the town centre is pungent. People don't realise they're funding organised crime'
A police panel heard how residents in Ruthin complain of pungent cannabis smoke in the streets, with the drug blamed for financing serious, organised crime. Speaking at a North Wales Police and Crime Panel meeting, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin gave an update at Conwy 's Coed Pella HQ. The panel was updated on various police developments by the crime commissioner, which included Project Draig, a campaign 'raising awareness and capturing the response to SOC (serious and organised crime)'. But meeting chairwoman Patricia Astbury spoke on the subject and said she was 'frustrated' by cannabis users, whom she accused of funding serious and organised crime through drug use. Ms Astbury also used the streets of Ruthin as an example of how 'pungent' the smell of the drug is in some North Wales towns. 'I don't think communities out there really understand how this SOC (serious and organised crime) can impact upon our lives,' she said. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox. 'It is Insidious, isn't it, what happens? And I listen, and I don't get why they don't understand how, for example, cannabis - the use of cannabis – that's all connected, isn't it? And that just seems to be an accepted part of life now, that you can go down a street, and you hear people in Ruthin saying the smell of cannabis is strong.' She added: 'I know local policing are doing something about that. They've just done an exercise in the south of the county, haven't they, where you started off in Ruthin, and that was one of the things people were saying. 'You walk up the streets and the smell is pungent.' And people just don't understand the impact when they are using cannabis, for example, that they are actually funding serious, organised crime eventually. I know it is a small thing, but I get cross sometimes. Why don't you understand what you're doing? It is frustrating.' Mr Dunbobbin responded: 'Not long after the results of the election last year, and I was spoken to by various media outlets. They said, 'What is your main priority for North Wales?' And my answer was serious, organised crime because everything else intrinsically links into that, with so many things, so many different strands. I know that is really much a priority of this force, with the chief constable there.' 'We've got Operation Draig (Project Draig), isn't it, chief? So there is a real emphasis on tackling that issue.'
Wales Online
02-07-2025
- Wales Online
'The smell in the town centre is pungent. People don't realise they're funding organised crime'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A police panel heard how residents in Ruthin complain of pungent cannabis smoke in the streets, with the drug blamed for financing serious, organised crime. Speaking at a North Wales Police and Crime Panel meeting, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin gave an update at Conwy 's Coed Pella HQ. The panel was updated on various police developments by the crime commissioner, which included Project Draig, a campaign 'raising awareness and capturing the response to SOC (serious and organised crime)'. But meeting chairwoman Patricia Astbury spoke on the subject and said she was 'frustrated' by cannabis users, whom she accused of funding serious and organised crime through drug use. Ms Astbury also used the streets of Ruthin as an example of how 'pungent' the smell of the drug is in some North Wales towns. 'I don't think communities out there really understand how this SOC (serious and organised crime) can impact upon our lives,' she said. Sign up for the North Wales Live newslettersent twice daily to your inbox. 'It is Insidious, isn't it, what happens? And I listen, and I don't get why they don't understand how, for example, cannabis - the use of cannabis – that's all connected, isn't it? And that just seems to be an accepted part of life now, that you can go down a street, and you hear people in Ruthin saying the smell of cannabis is strong.' (Image: Andy Dunbobbin) She added: 'I know local policing are doing something about that. They've just done an exercise in the south of the county, haven't they, where you started off in Ruthin, and that was one of the things people were saying. 'You walk up the streets and the smell is pungent.' And people just don't understand the impact when they are using cannabis, for example, that they are actually funding serious, organised crime eventually. I know it is a small thing, but I get cross sometimes. Why don't you understand what you're doing? It is frustrating.' Mr Dunbobbin responded: 'Not long after the results of the election last year, and I was spoken to by various media outlets. They said, 'What is your main priority for North Wales?' And my answer was serious, organised crime because everything else intrinsically links into that, with so many things, so many different strands. I know that is really much a priority of this force, with the chief constable there.' 'We've got Operation Draig (Project Draig), isn't it, chief? So there is a real emphasis on tackling that issue.' Public notices in your area
NDTV
12-06-2025
- NDTV
Jealous Man Says He "F****D Up" After Killing Ex-GF For "Hurting His Feelings"
A Southern Illinois man confessed to shooting his ex-girlfriend in 2023 after a bad breakup. Emmet Metzger has been sentenced to "natural life in prison," state prosecutors announced on Monday. On April 7, the 27-year-old pleaded guilty to the murder of Alexis Maki. He shot Ms Maki multiple times in her apartment, The Belleville News-Democrat reported. Metzger then reportedly contacted 911 shortly after the murder, confessed to the shooting, and begged to be taken into custody. "I f**ked up. I did something so bad. I shot my girlfriend. I need to be arrested, please?" Metzger said in the 911 call on November 4, 2023, according to First Alert 4. He made the frantic call around 4:20 pm and surrendered to the New Baden Police. He told authorities that he had shot his ex-girlfriend at their shared Hanover Street apartment, per KSDK. The former couple had broken up around a month before the shooting, according to the family. Police discovered Ms Maki unconscious at the apartment, and Metzger was taken into custody. He claimed to have loaded and discharged the gun at her after taking it from a case in the bedroom. He then claimed to have thrown the gun to the ground, rushed downstairs and dialled 911. The man further admitted to having dated Maki earlier and had a tense breakup. He admitted to using a 9 mm Taurus G2C pistol to shoot her his former partner. Maki was a college student and about to graduate at the time of her murder. She worked as a bartender at Grit and Tonic and studied radiography at Kaskaskia College, per KSDK. According to JD Brandmeyer, Metzger was distraught over his and Maki's separation and had been consuming cocaine, THC, and alcohol in the hours before the shooting. Clinton County State's Attorney JD Brandmeyer told the judge, "There is no excuse for killing someone in cold blood after a breakup". Maki's mother, Lisa Brock, claimed that Metzger was "really jealous of her not spending all of her time with him. He was making her life miserable." The Clinton County State's Attorney's office announced on Monday that Metzger was sentenced to life in prison without any credit for the 583 days he was already in jail, per Law and Crime.
BBC News
29-01-2025
- BBC News
'Stalking could be murder in slow motion,' campaigner says
"It has the potential to be murder in slow motion."Tracey Morgan was stalked by a colleague in Hampshire for nearly a decade and has campaigned for laws to provide better protection for victims.A BBC Freedom of Information request found 1,388 Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) were issued by the police forces who responded, with nearly 440,000 overall cases recorded between 2020 and Morgan called the statistics "so disappointing" and said a multi-agency approach was needed. Ms Morgan, who now lives in Crowthorne, Berkshire, said her experience of being stalked was "relentless", including being followed, watched, and the stalker accessing her home and taking items, as well as pouring oil over her car on two occasions."He made plans to kill me and my husband at the time," she said."We eventually got the test case for psychological grievous bodily harm in 1996 and he has over 20 convictions relating to his stalking of me."She said reporting that to the police had been "difficult" as she had "no bruises or broken bones"."When a victim goes for help, what have they got to show, necessarily?," she stalker was only jailed for life in 2001 for the attempted murder of another Morgan said hearing the figures of convictions was "so disappointing". "[The victims] are actually terrified, it takes a lot of courage to go to the police."Why are the criminal justice system not getting it?"Last year, a review by London's victims' commissioner Claire Waxman found that two-thirds of stalking offences in London are committed by repeat Waxman said 45% of stalking victims withdrew from the justice process and a further 41% saw no further police action on their complaints, according to her findings. Ms Morgan is now a member of the National Stalking said she had spearheaded the campaign which brought in the Harassment Act in 1997, which deals with stalking both on and said she had also given evidence to the parliamentary inquiry, which brought in the stalking laws and had thought the restraining orders would help."However, they were there, as I was told, to restrain, not instruct, when we discovered my stalker had changed his name by deed poll to my ex boyfriend's. "The SPO are there to ... protect victims before damage is done, however, they're a piece of paper, not bulletproof vests."It's really, really vital that the agencies react quickly ... and prevent further damage." SPOs, introduced in January 2020, are civil orders that must be applied for by the police through the magistrates' courts on behalf of prohibit activities such as entering certain locations or making the Thames Valley around 7% of stalking cases resulted in convictions, which is similar to other forces around the Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber said all reports of stalking or harassment "are taken seriously"."I have funded the Thames Valley Stalking Service since 2023 and during that time it has supported over 500 victims," he minister Jess Phillips said there were "many problems" across the country in how stalking issues were dealt with."It needs a lot of work of which the government has committed to but it is simply not good enough. "You can't look at figures like that and think anything else." Ms Morgan said the statistics "speak for themselves". "[Victims] have possibly gone through a hundred incidents before going to the police, so the need to react and take seriously," she said."It has the potential to be murder in slow motion and we want to prevent that."Also, if [a SPO or a restraining order] isn't acted upon ... what message does that send to the perpetrator? She said TVP "need to look at the other agencies" such as the Cheshire Harm Reduction Unit."I know for a fact that Thames Valley and Hampshire probation service are keen to work together with the other agencies, to sit down with the case and discuss each case."There is so much knowledge in the area." If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, information and support is available via the BBC Action Line. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
