Neighbourhood officers carrying out a community safety survey in Kingsmead Square yesterday were called to deal with an issue in the public toilets in nearby Monmouth Street, where drugs were discovered.
PCs Laura Biro and Nigel Howcroft and Neighbourhood Inspector Adrian Fallows were meeting with police crime reduction advisers to see if they could suggest any changes to the environment of Kingsmead Square to deter anti-social behaviour.
Soon after the officers arrived, at about 2.20pm, a call came in about anti-social behaviour in the public toilets.
PCs Biro and Howcroft immediately responded and found a group of five people in the toilets and seized some needles and drug paraphernalia.
All five people were searched and four were sent on their way. A 38-year-old man from Bath was found to be in possession of suspected drugs.
He voluntarily attended the police station for interview and was released pending further enquiries.
Inspector Adrian Fallows said: “Following meetings with local traders who are concerned about the impact of alcohol-related anti-social behaviour in the square, we arranged for this survey by our crime reduction advisers.
“It’s part of ongoing work to tackle these issues including targeted patrols of the area. We want to work with partner agencies and the community to ensure we don’t simply move the problem to another area.
“We’ll be discussing any proposals from our crime reduction advisers with local stakeholders in due course.”
