Ruth Edwards, Police Inspector Rob Lawton and members of the Rushcliffe Neighbourhood policing team (PC Cai Kemish and PCSO Sherry-Lee Samson) met with residents in the Ruddington Arms this week to hear their views about crime in Ruddington.
This comes after Ruth wrote to constituents with her Ruddington Crime Survey, asking residents to give their views on crime and policing in their community. Ruth invited everyone who responded to the survey to meet with Ruddington’s local policing team in person.
Many raised speeding and traffic offences as their number one concern in the village. They then discussed potential actions that they would like to see the police take to tackle this. In response, Inspector Lawton told residents about a scheme he has set up where his team will organise speed trap operations, based on feedback from the community about where and when they will be the most helpful.
There was also a discussion about how to report suspicious activity to the local policing team with worries about where to send the information if residents are worried about drug dealing or burglary in a specific location, but do not actually witness a crime. Details of how to contact the local Neighbourhood team for Ruddington can be found here. Reports of any suspicious activity should be made by dialling 111.
Investing in policing is a priority for the Government, with its 2019 manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 more police officers by 2024. So far, over 11,000 new officers have been recruited across the country. Nottinghamshire police has hit its recruitment target a year early, with 300 new officers in total joining the force.
Ruth said: “After having some residents write to me about crime concerns, I decided to send out a crime survey to understand more about how residents in Rushcliffe felt about crime in their local area and what I can do to help address their concerns. Parliament has just passed the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act which equips the police with the powers and tools they need to protect the public, toughens sentencing laws to keep serious offenders behind bars for longer, and places greater emphasis on rehabilitation to better help offenders turn their lives around and prevent further crimes.
I want to thank everyone in Ruddington who took part in the survey. I’d also like to thank Rushcliffe’s Neighbourhood team and Inspector Rob Lawton for coming to meet with us in Ruddington, and for all of their hard work day in day out to keep us safe.”
Ruth also spent time before the meeting with frontline officers as Ruddington and Cotgrave Beat Manager, PC Cai Kemish took her on a foot patrol around the village.
Inspector Rob Lawton said: “It was great to get out and meet the residents who responded to Ruth’s Ruddington crime survey and hear their concerns. It was also a good chance to discuss my team’s strategic aims for Rushcliffe and how we and the community can work together in the future.”
This will be the first in a series of meetings with local communities across Rushcliffe. Ruth has already sent a crime survey out in Cotgrave and will shortly be doing so across West Bridgford.
