Police or partners: Who should I contact?
Many of the most common queries we receive are not matters for the police.
Please help us to keep our contact channels free for those who need our help.
Details on how to contact South Wales Police can be found here. Always dial 999 if it's an emergency.
You can report an abandoned vehicle to your local council.
Vehicles which are abandoned somewhere which is causing a danger or obstruction should be reported to us.
Report concerns about animal cruelty, or an animal in distress, to the RSPCA. Full details are available via the RSPCA website.
Anti-social driving is any activity involving a vehicle which causes alarm or distress.
This can include racing, loud music coming from the vehicle and wheel spinning. You can report it to us online.
You may find begging for money distressing and intimidating, especially if the beggar becomes persistent. You can report this to us online.
Your local council is responsible for the upkeep and condition of most roads. The South Wales Trunk Road Agent (SWTRA) is responsible for managing, maintaining and improving the strategic road network in South Wales, including motorways and trunk roads. Traffic Wales is the Welsh Government’s traffic information service for motorways and trunk roads in Wales.
Traffic management issues, in the first instance, should be signposted to your local council.
To report an incident or obstruction on the roads, contact the police.
The offence of criminal damage involves someone without lawful excuse:
- destroying or damaging any property belonging to another
- intending to destroy or damage property
- being reckless as to whether any property would be destroyed or damaged
If there is no immediate threat, you can report criminal damage to us online.
Dial 999 if the criminal damage is in progress.
Your local council has a responsibility to keep public areas such as parks, playgrounds and pavements clear of dog mess.
You can report dog fouling to your local council.
Your local council will arrange for syringes and drug paraphernalia left in public to be removed. Find your local council.
You can report rowdy drunken behaviour to us online. Noise complaints should be report to your local council.
Fly tipping, the dumping of waste, needs to be reported to the local council. Find your local council.
You can anonymously report any information you have regarding fly tipping, illegal waste dumping, or anything else to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
You can report damage caused by graffiti to us here. If you want to report graffiti to be cleaned, contact your local council.
It is an offence to drop litter in any public place.
If you are caught by a police officer, Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) or council warden dropping litter, you may be given an on-the-spot fine.
Please report litter problems to your local council.
Nuisance noise is any loud or persistent noise that causes you ongoing concern or affects your quality of life.
Your local council should be your first contact for reporting nuisance noise as this isn’t usually a matter for the police.
Generally, your local council is responsible for enforcing parking issues in:
- off-street car parks managed by local authorities
- on-street traffic regulation order lines and signs such as double-yellow lines, residential or disabled parking bays, and taxi ranks
Report the following issues to police:
- a vehicle parked in a dangerous position
- a parked vehicle obstructing the road (or the pavement, causing pedestrians to enter the highway)
- a skip causing an obstruction or in a dangerous position
- moving traffic offences
Social housing-related matters should be reported to the relevant social housing provider.
Concerns about speeding or requests for speed enforcement can be made via the website of GoSafe Cymru, a partnership established to make people safer on Welsh roads by reducing casualties and saving lives.
GoSafe’s Operation Snap allows you to submit footage, such as from a dashcam, which you may have of dangerous driving.
If you see an untaxed vehicle on a road, you can report it via the DVLA.
You can contact police to report a vehicle that does not have an MOT. However, you can only report a vehicle with no MOT to the police if it’s being used on a road.
You need the vehicle’s:
- number plate (registration number)
- make and model
- colour
- location
If the vehicle is abandoned the police cannot deal with it. You need to report abandoned vehicles to your local council.
Contacting other organisations
There are seven councils within the South Wales Police force area:
If you're not sure, you can find your local council via the gov.uk website.
Two fire services cover the South Wales Police force area:
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service
- Bridgend
- Cardiff
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Vale of Glamorgan
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service
- Neath Port Talbot
- Swansea