Wanted: More shop police stations

The station next to the entrance to Asda has been open two weeks

Managers in Swansea are asking for police to set up in their stores after a station opened at a supermarket there.

The Asda superstore on the city's enterprise zone is the first in Wales to have its own police station.

Now other retailers have written to South Wales Police asking the force to open offices in their premises.

Police say they are still assessing the impact of the new Asda station before deciding whether more will follow.

People complain about not seeing a police officer but now they can see us if they've got any concerns Inspector Chris O'Brien

But Inspector Chris O'Brien said he was happy with the first two weeks it had been in operation.

"A lot of people have been coming going to talk about things they would not normally speak to a police officer about," he said.

"These are things they would not normally bother to contact the police about because they think we have not got the time.

"We have not had a lot of what we call 'hard police incidents'.

"But we've had good bits of intelligence about people who are suspected of committing crimes from people all over the west Glamorgan area."

Within hours of the station first opening officers recovered a stolen bike as the thief dumped it and ran off because he was not expecting uniformed officers to be in the area.

Positive feedback

Traders at the Fforestfach Shopping Park have now written to the force asking for a station there.

Inspector O'Brien said there had also been positive feedback from shoppers.

"It has been worth he effort because people are able to see us," he said.

"If people have a problem they are sometimes loathed to go into a police station.

"People complain about not seeing a police officer but now they can see us if they've got any concerns.

"It's traditional community policing in a modern location."