'School wars' and threats blight North Cardiff

CRIME & COMMUNITY ROUND-UP

Llanishen High School reopened yesterday (Wednesday) after being closed for two days, when police received threats to harm people with weapons.

At around 8.30pm on Sunday (15 March) South Wales Police received a live chat making threats to harm people with weapons at Llanishen and Eastern High Schools. Further communication was received late on Monday (16 March) about St Illtyd’s High School.

The Force made enquiries, assessed the information, and searched all three schools. But they found no evidence of anyone attending any of the schools posing a threat.

South Wales Police have since confirmed the information received, which resulted in the school closures, is now being investigated as malicious communications - messages intended to cause distress or anxiety.

They are investigating to establish the origin of the communications.

This incident follows previous social media posts earlier in the month promoting TikTok trend 'school wars', which encouraged coordinated fights across numerous Cardiff sites, pitting pupils from neighbouring high schools against each other. There were no reported incidents following schools alerting parents to the implications of any pupils being involved in such activity.

👮 Last night (Wednesday) a meeting of Rhiwbina Police and Community Together (PACT) took place at Bethany Baptist Church, with Rhiwbina councillors and South Wales Police representatives present.

Updates on previous concerns were provided; requests for Traffic Orders had been submitted for a number of Rhiwbina roads including Maes-y-Deri, Y Groes and Heol-y-Coed. These would be subject to a public consultation.

As part of the Greener Whitchurch initiative, action was proposed on Tyn-y-Parc Road and Heol-y-Nant to reduce flooding, by establishing rainwater gardens.

The audience raised various concerns, including the need for several dropped kerbs, improved road markings on crossings, and ongoing parking issues at Rhiwbeina Primary School and roads surrounding the village.

It was reported traffic enforcement officers had made 19 visits in February but only three parking tickets had been issued. Residents were encouraged to report any relevant concerns on the Cardiff Council app.

Police updated on the reported cases of tyre damage in the area which appeared to be deliberate. Anyone experiencing such damage was asked to notify the police.

It was noted there were pockets of drug dealing in North Cardiff but action taken, including a series of recently served warrants, looked promising in disrupting distribution.

In terms of crime statistics, since 1 January there had been five recorded burglaries and five cases of shoplifting in Rhiwbina. A warning was given about the increase in vehicle crime in Cardiff overall and people were reminded to remove valuables and lock their vehicles overnight.