Rushcliffe neighbourhood policing inspector Tim Cuthbert writes his monthly blog for residents and businesses in the borough.
Inspector Cuthbert writes”
‘A very busy month in Rushcliffe around our sporting venues with the conclusion of the football season, the visit of Take That to the City Ground, and the cricket season starting to ramp up now with the T20 games taking off this week too, so officers have been busy supporting these events, ensuring they pass off as safely as possible.
In terms of a crime update, we’ve seen a sustained reduction in thefts of vehicles and motorbikes in the last couple of months, as well as reduction in burglaries across Rushcliffe, with a reduction in the theft of pedal cycles too, all of which is great news, so thanks to the local policing teams, as well as the residents of Rushcliffe who have supported us with crime prevention initiatives, and calls reporting suspicious behaviour.
You may be aware of an incident in Edwalton where a man was seriously injured with a knife at an address, and I’m pleased to report that following some swift action on the night from the response teams from West Bridgford, a man was detained within hours of the incident, and will today (Friday 31st May) be charged with attempted murder and drugs offences, and he’ll be appearing at court on Saturday 1 June.
Thankfully such incidents are extremely rare in Rushcliffe, and having worked closely with the CID team, I’m very much reassured this is an isolated incident, and our local neighbourhood teams will be patrolling the areas impacted by the incident. I’d also like to thank the investigation team for their thorough & detailed work, as well as their long hours on the enquiry.
Speeding is something which I receive a lot of complaints about, and as a result, the Rushcliffe Neighbourhood Teams will be putting on some speeding operations across the borough in the coming weeks.
We’re extremely grateful too to the community speedwatch volunteers who give up their own time to provide key data to our teams which in turn ensure I can bid for the Camera Safety teams to come to Rushcliffe to support in identified speeding hot spots, as well as informing us where our local officers can set up to prevent, and deter speeding. The community speedwatch volunteers are a key part of our efforts to make our roads safer, and reduce collisions, so a massive thank you from me for the work you do!
Well done to the team at West Bridgford, especially PC Holden, who secured a Criminal Behaviour Order against a man who was acting as a door to door seller without the relevant certification, but was also acting in an aggressive & threatening manner to people on their doorsteps. He primarily impacted on vulnerable and elderly residents, so this order will prevent him from selling or attempting to sell door to door, or even being in possession of items to sell door to door, therefore preventing him from the very activity which intimidated and upset vulnerable people in their own homes.
Also, I was hugely proud of my Cotgrave Neighbourhood team, who responded instinctively and heroically with other officers to save a mans life in Cotgrave. Without their swift actions at an address, the male would almost certainly have died. Whilst acts such as this are rarely broadcast in public due to the obvious sensitivities around such matters, it just serves as a humbling reminder of the courageous and selfless acts that the Police and other public services are often called to do to safeguard members of the public.
Moving on to a seasonal problem which we encounter with the better weather, which is young people congregating around open water. In the coming weeks, I’ll be working with the Notts Police Underwater Search team & other partners to highlight the dangers of open water, and indeed the river, as all to often across the UK, we see the tragic, and deadly circumstances that people can get themselves into either by underestimating the impact of cold water, risks which lurk below the surface, currents, and also the tragic circumstances which can play out as other people put themselves at risk to save those in trouble. I spoke recently to Nicola Jenkins, who is the mother of Owen Jenkins, a brave young boy who tragically died saving 2 girls who had got into trouble at Beeston Weir.
My plea is mainly to parents. Please discuss the dangers of open water with your children & teenagers, and discourage them from swimming in rivers, quarries & open water areas. The police cannot prevent people jumping in and swimming in the River Trent 24/7, so honest discussions about the risks may just deter young people from partaking in such activities which could have tragic, or even fatal consequences.’
Many thanks for taking the time to read this latest blog, stay safe.
Tim Cuthbert, Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for Rushcliffe.’
