More people were found in possession of drugs, knives and other items relating to crime – as Nottinghamshire Police recorded the most successful stop and search figures in the country.
New figures show that in the year to March 31 Nottinghamshire Police officers found what they were looking for 33 per cent of the time. That compares to a nationwide average of just 20 per cent.
Of the 5,414 people stopped and searched in this period, 80 per cent of them were for suspected drugs offences – proof of the effectiveness of several proactive crime-fighting initiatives.
These include the force’s specialist Knife Crime Team, for example, which has continued to take an proactive approach to stopping individuals and vehicles suspected of carrying knives and drugs.
In Nottingham City Centre officers have launched successful covert and overt operations to target violence and drug-related crime.Operation Guardian has been making use of uniformed officers, sniffer dogs and other police assets to uncover drugs and weapons and deter other from carrying them.
Operation Relentless, meanwhile, makes use of plain-clothed patrols targeted at detecting drug dealing and other related criminal activity.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “Every time police officers decide to search somebody they must have reasonable suspicion that they may be in possession of drugs, weapons or other prohibited items related to crime. As these figures show, such suspicions are more likely to be proved correct in Nottinghamshire than in any other area of the country.
“That’s not only because of the many proactive, intelligence-led policing initiatives we have in place, but also because of the training our officers undertake. The large number of new police officers we have put on our streets over the last year has also seen an increase in searches, especially our new Reacher Teams.
“We do not underestimate the impact that stop and search encounters have people in our communities. We try very hard to do this respectfully, professionally and always follow the community intelligence. This is crucial to our success especially with knife crime reductions. However, these powers are a legitimate and highly effective way to tackle the offences that cause our communities the most concern, such as burglary, robbery and the carrying of weapons.
The figures, produced by the Office for National Statistics, also show that the force is stopping more people per thousand (five) than any other East Midlands force – an increase of 80 per cent on the same period last year.
In Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire that number is four per thousand, whilst in Derbyshire it is two per thousand.Other offensive weapons accounted for 10.5 per cent of the people searched; stolen property accounted for three per cent and suspected burglars 4.7 per cent.
The figures also show that the force is searching a lower proportion of people from BAME backgrounds than the national average. Across England and Wales people from BAME backgrounds are four times are four times more likely to be stopped and searched, whereas in Nottinghamshire the figure is three time.
Paddy Tipping, Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “Stop and search has increased significantly both nationally and in Nottinghamshire. I’m pleased to that in Nottinghamshire, our positive outcome rate is above any elsewhere in the country, showing that Nottinghamshire Police is using stop and search fairly and effectively, with targeted and intelligence-led searches.
“These figures will give the community confidence that those crimes that concern them the most are being tackled successfully.”
