Efforts to catch offenders in rural areas in Nottinghamshire have been boosted by the addition of three brand-new Hilux 4x4s which have been rolled out across the county.
The fleet available to Nottinghamshire Police has now expanded with vehicles located in Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood as well as Rushcliffe to give the force the best chance of stopping criminals in their tracks.
The new vehicles have also been installed with mobile automatic number plate recognition cameras to enhance the existing network of fixed cameras on the county’s roads – which instantly alert police to sightings of vehicles linked to criminal activity.
The work taking place is part of Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry’s commitment to tackling rural crime as part of the Make Notts Safe policing plan, with £200,000 of investment also being provided to secure rural homes and businesses across some of the biggest rural spaces in the county throughout the Bassetlaw and Newark and Sherwood districts.
This included the appointment of Rural Crime Prevention Officer David Elms in 2023, who has since been getting to work evaluating the needs of rural crime victims and implementing a range of security measures to make it more difficult for criminals to reoffend.
Nottinghamshire Police is carrying out the work with support from partners at Bassetlaw District Council and Newark and Sherwood District Council.
Commissioner Caroline Henry said: “One of the things I’m passionate about is making sure everybody in Nottinghamshire gets the police service they deserve.
“Historically some of our rural communities have felt left out, so I’ve been determined to make a difference by creating extra money to help reduce crime in vulnerable areas.
“We’ve taken action to purchase the new Hilux 4x4s to further strengthen our position of tackling criminals who may think they can escape by heading off-road.
“I want to make sure our officers in the rural areas, which makes up two thirds of Nottinghamshire, have the kit they need to keep communities safe and feeling safe.”
Additional funding has also allowed officers across the force to undertake more training surrounding rural crime. This includes national rural crime training for beat officers, farm awareness and health and safety training and five new rural crime points of contact within the control room.
Call handlers and dispatchers are also given additional training by the National Farmers’ Union to help them better understand and respond to the unique impact that rural crime can have when they assess the threat, risk and harm caused by the incident being reported.
There are now 48 police constables and PCSOs across the force who have access to this specialist equipment, resources, and training to increase awareness and ensure a better service for victims in their areas.
Sergeant Rob Harrison, who is part of the rural crime cohort for Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We’re really pleased with the new vehicles and they’re already being put to good use in Nottinghamshire.
“They’ve given us much more capability and tactical options now that they’re on the road which increases our chances of catching baddies.
“We’ve expanded the fleet and there is nowhere we can’t go. The gloves are off and we’re out in the rural areas doing what we need to do.
“It means we can get to places we couldn’t do before. We would struggle to catch hare courses, poachers and nuisance vehicles that would go off road, whereas now we can continue to do the preventative measures but also catch the offenders using the new vehicles.”
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Posted on Wednesday 20th March 2024