A new team of specialist police officers have been making strides to reduce anti-social behaviour at Nottingham’s Victoria Centre.
In January, the force launched a team of five problem-solving coordinators as part of ongoing efforts to proactively reduce crime and divert people away from offending.
Officers have been listening to the concerns of retailers and are working in partnership with Nottingham’s Victoria Centre, to put measures in place to ensure the site sees a reduction in criminal activity.
Concerns include aggressive begging, shoplifting, and criminal damage to the site’s facilities, which includes fire extinguishers being discharged.
There have also been issues with groups of young people being aggressive and abusive towards retail staff and security.
The problem-solving coordinators work collaboratively with neighbourhood policing teams and engage with partner organisations to identify and monitor patterns in anti-social behaviour, provide expert advice and guidance, and recommend suitable prevention measures.
They have been working closely with Victoria Centre and the force’s Designing Out Crime Officers, who can assess an area to implement preventative measures and deter criminal activity.
This includes increasing the visibility of security staff, removing furniture from areas where young people gather and turning off the Wi-Fi.
Schools and Early Intervention Officers are also liaising with nearby schools about preventative and remedial work to curtail these offences.
Young people are also being signposted into further support, where appropriate, with Nottingham-based charity Base 51, which has specialist staff available and activity areas with pool tables and gaming systems.
This is in addition to officers from the city centre neighbourhood policing team monitoring and deterring criminal activity with high-visibility patrols to identify offenders and proactive enforcement in response to emergency calls.
The problem-solving coordinators are part of the force’s Prevention Hub, which is a collaboration between multiple force departments responsible for developing and delivering strategies to prevent crime and disorder throughout the city and county.
Inspector Brendan Gaynor is Nottinghamshire Police’s Prevention Hub lead for the problem-solving coordinator team.
He said: “We take concerns of anti-social behaviour very seriously and it is a priority for us to tackle these problems as we understand the cost this causes to businesses and the appeal of the city’s shopping destinations.
“With effective partnership working and proactive prevention measures we can deter incidents of anti-social behaviour, better support young people, and make the city centre a much safer and desirable place to visit.
“I would like to extend my thanks to Victoria Centre for their continued efforts to work alongside the force collaboratively towards resolving this issue.
“I would encourage shoppers and residents to report any instances of anti-social behaviour or criminal activity to Nottinghamshire Police as soon as an incident occurs.
“Intelligence reported to us will help inform neighbourhood policing teams to identify areas of concern and allow officers to attend incidents at the earliest opportunity.”
Commenting on the partnership with Nottinghamshire Police, Glen Staniforth, operations manager at Victoria Centre, said: “Continuing to provide our customers with a safe, clean and relaxed shopping environment is incredibly important to us.
“By collaborating with Nottinghamshire Police to identify and target efforts on the areas that are most vital to our retailers and customers, we can all benefit from a vibrant, safe and secure city shopping experience.”
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