More police patrols are taking place in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Tanygrisiau, and Pwllheli as part of Op Restore.

Officers are targeting known antisocial behaviour hotspots in these areas, and elsewhere in Gwynedd.

Police will implement enhanced measures to combat serious violence and anti-social behaviour (ASB) and over the next 12 months, significant additional patrol resources will be assigned to areas with higher incidences of these offence types.

This enhanced operational capability has been facilitated by Home Office funding as part of its ‘Hotspot Response’ initiative.

Cumulatively, more than £66 million will be distributed among UK police forces for this scheme.

In accordance with the size of its force area, North Wales Police (NWP) has been assigned £1 million, aimed specifically at eradicating ASB and serious violence in problem areas.

Thirty hotspots, equivalent to three in each NWP district, have been identified. Additional patrols have already begun in many of these areas.

Chief Inspector Matt Geddes, NWP’s force lead for Op Restore, said: "Piloted programmes elsewhere in the UK have yielded highly positive outcomes in terms of reducing levels of ASB and violent crime, and we should expect this to impact just as significantly here in North Wales.

“We now have operational patrols and analytical support up and running across the force area.

"Ultimately, the success of Op Restore across the next 12 months will depend on ensuring that the right areas are resourced adequately.

“Naturally, we will continually review the crime data from these targeted areas and tailor our operational response appropriately and proportionately.

"An enhanced uniformed presence in these areas, which will target all forms of ASB and serious violence specifically, should yield a significant reduction in recorded crime overall.

"This high-visibility proactive patrolling will be supported by force and local level problem-solving approaches to tackle some of the drivers behind this type of offending with partners.

“The aim is to deliver high impact changes with long term outcomes for the communities of North Wales.

“As a force, we will also endeavour keep the people of North Wales informed with regular updates around Op Restore on our external news channels.”