A Nottingham city centre sergeant says officers are “doing everything possible to make people feel safe” after his team made 25 arrests in just one week.
Sergeant Jono Pothecary has seven constables and one PCSO in his team – one of three that make up neighbourhood policing in Nottingham’s city centre.
Each week, they tally up the number of arrests made, and Sgt Pothecary said recent figures had been remarkable.
He said: “Between 3 March and 9 March, the team made 25 arrests. Not only is that fantastic news in terms of tackling crime, but it is also a testament to the commitment and hard work of my team.
“We’ve arrested people for a mix of offences. We’ve arrested individuals for offences such as robbery after they’ve been identified as suspects in a case and then spotted by us while out on patrol.
“Recent arrests also include persons suspected of being involved in drug supply. We’ve arrested people who are on recall to prison. These are individuals who have been allowed to leave prison on licence. They are then stringently monitored to ensure they are behaving and adhering to their conditions. If they fail to do that, it falls upon us to go out there and find them so they can be returned to prison.
“We’ve also arrested a number of people who have failed to appear in court for offences such as shoplifting, drug offences, and violent crimes.”
An officer’s workload significantly increases with every arrest, and Sgt Pothecary said his team was working hard to ensure each person detained faces the proper consequences for their actions.
He said: “Honestly, I’m astounded by my team. Every day, I’m even more impressed than I was the previous day. These officers joined the police because they want to go out and do everything they can to ensure the public feels safe.
“They want to protect the public and make a difference. I cannot fault those officers. They are working tirelessly. Each time they make an arrest, there’s a lot of work that has to happen afterwards.
“They have to transport the suspect into custody, gather all the evidence available, write statements, plan for the suspect’s interview, carry out the interview, and then, after all that, I have to conduct an evidential review to determine whether we’re able to charge the suspect with any offences.
“In more serious cases, we have to prepare a detailed file for the Crown Prosecution Service so that they can make the charging decision. So yes, there’s a lot of work that happens after an arrest is made.”
The team has also been making use of Section 35 dispersal powers, which can be used by police officers to deal with individuals engaging in anti-social behaviour or crime and disorder.
Sgt Pothecary said: “We’ve used dispersal powers really effectively. Such powers allow us to serve dispersal notices on anyone causing problems. They must then leave the city centre for a set period of time, and if they return, we can arrest them.
“Most have abided by those notices, but those who haven’t have been arrested after we used a range of tactics, including CCTV monitoring and foot patrols, to identify breaches. We’ve really been clamping down on those who breach these dispersal notices. We go out, find them, and put them before the courts.”
The role of neighbourhood teams stretches beyond making arrests. They are also tasked with problem-solving and working alongside partners and stakeholders to ensure crime levels fall over the long term.
Sgt Pothecary said the city centre teams were performing well in that respect too. He said: “On top of making numerous arrests, we’re expanding that work even further to find longer-term solutions – such as submitting Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) applications, which, when granted by the courts, can prohibit an offender from entering a specified area for a prolonged period of time, often years.
“We’ve had a lot of success with CBO applications in recent times, and we’re going to be submitting more with the evidence that we gather. This will help us stop persistent offenders from coming into the city centre and committing offences.
“Evidence can be submitted in the form of results from stop searches, out-of-court disposals where arrest wasn’t proportionate, and evidence from court cases where we have interviewed someone for an offence and then reported them for summons before issuing them with a direction to leave.”
It is hoped that these measures, combined with high-visibility patrols, will result in the public feeling safe in the city centre.
“That has always been and will always be our main goal,” Sgt Pothecary said. “Nottingham is a safe place, but like any city centre, incidents do happen, and we are out there arresting those who commit offences.
“We’ve deployed a lot of high-visibility patrols following the recent knife crime incidents and have had really good engagement with the public. They’ve asked us questions, and I’d encourage anyone with concerns to continue approaching officers and speaking to them.
“We’re doing everything we can to combat crime and make people feel safe – and we will continue to do so.”
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