Reports of anti-social behaviour in Dyfatty have fallen by more than 37% since police began their crackdown in January, and the operation is now being handed to the council.
South Wales Police says the Clear phase of the operation produced 143 arrests, 151 stop and searches and nine drugs warrants between January and 13 October.
Officers also issued 93 dispersal orders moving people out of the area and eight community protection notices or warnings. Trading Standards shut three businesses with closure orders as part of Clear, Hold, Build.
Reports of drug trafficking fell by 48%, drug possession by 25.8%, theft from the person by 16.7%, criminal damage by 14.3% and violence without injury by 13.5%, the force says.
From Clear to Hold: the council takes over
The Clear phase, led by the police, formally ended on 30 September. The Hold phase, aimed at stopping the gangs coming back, is overseen by Swansea Council with the other Public Services Board partners.
At the public launch in March, in front of the Matthew Street flats, Clear was billed as a year-long police-led drive. It has run for about nine months.
The headline figure has also shifted. In the first two months the force reported anti-social behaviour down 69%; the figure across the whole phase is 37%, measured against the same period the year before.
The jailings police are counting
Police list four prison sentences from the operation. Flynn Johnson Andrews, 28, from Hafod, got four years after Snapchat messages showed him selling cannabis and ketamine.
Andrew Flipping, 48, and Paul Martin, 58, got eight years and four years and eight months for supplying Class A drugs after a heroin and crack deal in a parked car in Hafod.
Ricco Jones, described by police as a prolific offender, got eight months for theft, assault, criminal damage and breaching a criminal behaviour order.
Not on the force’s list is Abdullah Saed, the London dealer jailed for 32 months after biting an officer by the Matthew Street flats a week after the launch.
“We will not allow those who seek to cause harm to regain a foothold”
Temporary Chief Inspector Andrew Hedley said the end of the Clear phase “marks a significant milestone” but “this is not the end of the work”.
He said: “We will continue to pursue those involved in serious organised crime, act on information provided by the community, and support long-term efforts to make Dyfatty an even safer place to live, work and visit. The message is clear: we will not allow those who seek to cause harm to regain a foothold in this community.”
Council leader Rob Stewart said the Dyfatty Junction hub, which opened in June, was “already proving a real success” and that the council had spoken to “a huge number” of residents, groups and businesses over six months.
He added: “We’re under no illusions though. This is still early days and there’s a lot more to do.”
The council gave its housing officers powers to shut homes taken over by dealers this month, a move it said was to back the Dyfatty work. The Building a Better Dyfatty programme runs alongside a £20m, ten-year UK Government investment in the area.
Anyone experiencing anti-social behaviour can report it on 101, or 999 in an emergency, the force said.
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