Police stopped and searched people and speeding drivers were tackled as a proactive policing operation in West Bridgford.
A team of officers, consisting of Operation Reacher, neighbourhoood and specialist support, were out patrolling West Bridgford town centre as people enjoyed a night in the local bars and restaurants.
The operation, which aims to tackle anti-social behaviour, drugs and a variety of other issues, is set to become a regular feature in the area, providiing reassurance to locals and revellers.
A specialist drugs dog also formed part of the team and was using their sniffer senses to detect drugs and alert officers to this and officers also took to the roads to intercept drivers as part of the team’s action on drink-driving in the area.
As a result of the team’s collective efforts, seven people were stopped and searched after they indicated that they had potentially had drugs on them. No drugs were recovered over the course of this evening, however a number of those stopped are believed to have had some contact with drugs recently.
A newer member of the dog team, PD Oakley, also joined the squad to get some experience and learn the ropes. At one stage in the evening, one of the officers acted as a ‘stooge’, hiding a quantity of class A drugs. The police dog pulled out all the stops and each time he came across the drugs he indicated they were there and found them.
Officers also stopped a number of drivers and gave out warnings, including four for speeding, three for lights which weren’t working, three for vehicle defects and one for causing an obstruction.
The team was also joined by Nottinghamshire Police licensing officers as well as Councillor Rob Inglis from Rushcliffe Borough Council during the operation on Friday (3 December 2021). The council has been continuously working together with officers to identify areas of focus, facilitate patrols and take appropriate action.
Sergeant James Ross led the operation and said: “We’re very pleased to be able to take this operation out into West Bridgford and this is the start of activity which we’re looking to make a regular feature in the town centre.
“Our patrols started at around 7pm and as it was a busy Friday night in town there were plenty of people out and about.
“It wasn’t long before we stopped a number of people after an indication from the drugs dogs. Whilst no drugs were recovered, we were able to talk to those we had stopped and actually decipher why the dog might have indicated to them, including some who said they had been in contact with drugs recently. In these cases, we looked at engagement and prevention and offered advice.”
Councillor Rob Inglis, the council’s cabinet porfolio holder for environment and safety, said: “We are always pleased to support an operation of this nature and partnership work, particularly at a time of year where we see an increase in footfall in the night time economy on our high streets as people celebrate the festive season.
“We want to ensure our streets, town and village centres are safe places to visit and anything that can deter anti-social behaviour and crime linked with drug use can only be a positive for our communities.”
