Quiet Halloween surprises police (From Penarth Times)

Quiet Halloween surprises police

PENARTH police had a real treat last week - reporting the quietest Halloween in years.

Officers in the town reported the streets were unusually quiet on what is traditionally the busiest night on the policing calendar.

And figures have indicated that incidents with fireworks on the night were down an encouraging 57 percent.

Inspector Huw Smart, of Penarth Police Station, said: "We had a 15 per cent drop in incidents in the Penarth sector this year.

"We dealt with a number of calls relating to youth annoyance problems but overall I am pleased to say that people were very well behaved."

Joe Sheehan, 76, of St Luke's Avenue, Penarth, said: "We hardly noticed it was Halloween. We had no problems at all. It was very quiet indeed." And D L Watkins, of Park Road, Penarth, said: "Halloween was very quiet in our street. We experienced absolutely no problems at all."

It is believed that the Halloween poster advertising campaign, the large police presence on the night and the responsible attitude taken by local retailers had a major effect and helped to keep down the number of incidents with fireworks.

This is a major success for the police and for the community, as the anti-social use of fireworks often disturbs local residents and can pose a great danger to those using fireworks irresponsibly.

Police numbers on the street were significantly boosted to deal with any incident of annoyance that may have occurred. The increased police presence also helped reassurance the public that anti-social behaviour would be tackled.

The extra officers were drafted in from other shifts and departments working within the Vale of Glamorgan.

While there was still a minority of people who were intent on spoiling the event for the community, Penarth officers seized only a small quantity of eggs and flour.