Police: “Keep an eye on your kids during Halloween”

Police are asking parents to keep an eye their youngsters and make sure they are not “going overboard” during Halloween celebrations.

The request comes after a young child sustained a cut to the face on Saturday evening when some fishing wire was hidden as part of a Halloween prank in a Ewloe park.

Posting an update on the North Flintshire Police Facebook page an officer said;

“Whilst we enjoy festive fun as much as anyone it is certainly a step too far if people get hurt! Please keep an eye out on your youngsters not going overboard!”

The update from police sparked a debate on their Facebook page about anti social behaviour in the area and ultimately who is responsible for the behaviour of teens.

The Big Park Ewloe

Lisa wrote: “This indecent happened by my house but no police presence ever come on this park teenagers left to do what they want they had fireworks going off on Friday night luckily no one was hurt.”

In response Sarah posted a commented saying: “Teenagers are the responsibility of their parents not the police.”
She added; “Their parents should know where they are and what they are doing. The police are hardly resourced to follow a generation of teenagers around.”

An officer from North Flintshire Policing team said: “Do you call Police if youths congregate and act in an anti social manner? Whilst we will patrol where we can when it is quiet this weekend was busy and Officers were often rushed from job to job.

If there isn’t a specific job created they won’t always patrol the area. In future if you have a specific problem with ASB please call it in at the time so it can be assessed. After all, if we don’t know it is going on at the time how are we to address it there and then.”

North Wales Police says it sees an increase in the number of calls to their St Asaph control room.

Chief Inspector Martin Best said: “We deal with all calls as speedily and as efficiently as we can and continue to strive to provide a top quality service.

“The average time to answer 999 calls year to date is 3.92 seconds and 12.81 seconds for the non-emergency 101 number.

As demand traditionally increases during around Halloween and Bonfire Night we would appreciate the public’s patience and understanding.

We will continue to do our best to answer all calls as quickly as we can. However, emergency 999 calls will always take priority.”

Trick or treating advice from North Wales Police:

• Only go to houses where you or your friends know the residents
• Don’t knock on doors where there is a sign saying ‘NO callers’
• Don’t enter any houses, always stay on the doorstep
• Although Halloween is supposed to be spooky, don’t frighten elderly people
• Always go trick or treating with an adult
• Stay in areas that are lit by streetlights but take a torch just in case
• Stay with your friends – don’t split into smaller groups unless an adult goes with you
• Don’t talk to strangers on the street

Fireworks

If you’re planning on setting off fireworks please ensure that you stick to the following regulations:

• You must not set off firework between 11pm and 7am.
• On Bonfire Night itself, you cannot set fireworks off after 12am.
• Fireworks can only be bought from registered sellers from 15^th October to 10^th November.
• You can be fined up to £5,000 and imprisoned for up to 6 months for selling or using fireworks illegally.
• You cannot buy category 2 and 3 fireworks if you’re under 18.
• Do not throw fireworks in a public place or into the road, it is against the law and you will be fined for doing so.

Antisocial behaviour

ASB covers a wide range of actions and behaviour, but is basically anything that results in:

• Someone feeling personally threatened
• The creation of a public nuisance
• A detrimental impact on the environment, or on the quality of life of an individual/community
• Sometimes there is a criminal element, for example vandalism, begging, drug dealing or underage drinking.

What can I do?

Report it: Reporting incidents is vital. It means we can act to tackle problems, or gather evidence to enable other agencies to take action. If you don’t tell us, we can’t help.

If you are harassed or victimised: Contact your local Neighbourhood Policing Team or call 101 if ASB is affecting your evening. You don’t have to put up with it. Always call 999 if a situation becomes an emergency (if someone’s life or safety is threatened, or a crime is in progress).

We will be conducting patrols across North Wales on Halloween night and Bonfire night.