THERE were four times more confiscations of alcohol in rural areas of Wrexham than in the town itself between April and June this year, police have revealed.
A report detailing the performance of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in the borough was considered by members of the council’s corporate governance and scrutiny committee.
Prepared by Chief Inspector Mark Pierce, it reveals that in Wrexham itself there were just 32 seizures of alcohol by PCSOs from people on the streets over the three months, compared to 148 in the Wrexham rural policing area.
Insp Paul Jones, who is in charge of the the rural area, told the Leader: “We are concentrating on alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and have held some specific operations, including Llay and Marford Quarry, which were reported in the Leader.
“We have almost twice as many PCSOs in the rural area as we have nearly twice as many residents, approximately 86,000 compared to 44,000 in the town. The town is also widely covered by CCTV.”
There are currently 49 PCSOs working across the borough, with Wrexham Council making a contribution of up to a quarter of their salary costs.
According to the report, a target has been set for the amount of time the officers spend out of the police station, which equates to 85 per cent of their duty period.
PCSOs in the town of Wrexham achived 86.61 per cent “visible time”, while their colleagues in Wrexham rural recorded 86.48 per cent.
For the April-June quarter anti-social crime, which is a prime target for the PCSOs, fell by 10.8 per cent across the borough compared to the same period last year.
This included a fall of 14.1 per cent in Wrexham rural and a reduction of 7.7 per cent in Wrexham town.