Neighbourhood officers say they will not stop cracking down on antisocial behaviour (ASB) in Newark and Sherwood.
That’s the message from the area’s police district commander following a continued drop in reports of ASB over the spring and into summer.
Guided by requests from the public, tackling nuisance behaviour in all its different forms has been a longstanding priority in Newark and Sherwood.
With this goal in mind, the neighbourhood policing team has for some time now focused on providing a visible presence in the community to help deter ASB.
These efforts have been intensified over the spring and summer months – especially the school holidays when it is common for these types of reports to rise.
The designated ASB rapid response car returned ahead of the end of term time, to help officers attend calls of disorder within the space of a couple of minutes.
Hotspot area patrols have also been stepped up by the neighbourhood team, who now have an additional location in Newark’s market square to allow them to get out more on foot.
This approach of providing a visible crime deterrent has really started to bear fruit in recent months and helped contribute to a consistent drop in ASB in Newark and Sherwood.
Reports have reduced by 12 per cent across the region, when comparing April to July this year with the same period 12 months earlier, with a 14 per cent drop in offences over the last year too.
Newark on its own has seen an 18 per cent drop in ASB offences, when comparing the time between last August and this July with the same period the year before.
Inspector Charlotte Ellam is thoroughly aware that more still needs to be done however, and reiterated the message that tackling ASB very much remains an ongoing challenge for the area.
She said: “While we focus a large portion of our time as a neighbourhood policing team trying to combat ASB, there will always be more we can do to help improve this.
“Having listened to the views of the community, we know how much of a negative impact this offending can have on people’s lives, which is why it has remained a priority area for us for so long.
“We do a huge amount of work, along with our partners, to try and combat this issue, which the public have told us is an area of criminality they want us to focus on.
“This has been particularly stepped up over the summer months, which tends to be when there is a surge of reports of ASB, what with children being off school.
“We’ve been particularly prepared for that trend this year, with the Op Renegade car being redeployed on the streets, and a range of extra targeted patrols and other operations taking place.
“Despite this, as expected we did see a spike in July, with reports going up by 13 per cent compared to June, which illustrates for us the challenge that we continue to face around ASB.”
The Newark team has seen a rise in reports of ASB in the Yorke Drive area in recent weeks as part of this, with targeted patrols stepped up as a result to help deter further offences.
Officers have also teamed up with local partners, including Newark and Sherwood District Council and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, on a range of initiatives designed to bring offending down.
In line with the Safer Streets project, CCTV cameras have been replaced, Safer Gyms set up and nights of action organised, while the council’s Community Protection Officers have regularly joined neighbourhood officers on patrols.
Inspector Ellam added: “The purpose of all of the work we and our partners have been doing is to make Newark and Sherwood a safer place for all to live, work and visit.
“We’re committed as a policing team to cracking down on ASB in all its forms, whether that be abuse shouted in the street, vandalism, or people acting in an aggressive manner.
“This type of behaviour can have a really negative impact on how residents feel about the place they live and is certainly not wanted by any of us here in the region.
“While it is pleasing to see that levels of ASB have steadily been going down, we know this can quite easily change, so will continue to look for any new ways we can tackle this type of offending.”
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