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Neighbourhood Policing

Minister praises ‘outstanding’ neighbourhood policing in Notts

22 January 2025

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson has hailed the “outstanding results” of a new neighbourhood policing model for making a “tangible difference” to safety on the streets of Nottinghamshire.

Operations by local bobbies have put prolific shoplifters behind bars, boarded up problem houses, stopped off-road bikers and seen significant reductions in theft and antisocial behaviour in communities across the city and county.

The new way of working has significantly enhanced the capacity of neighbourhood police officers to engage with local communities and work together to solve problems and tackle local issues.

The changes in Nottinghamshire began in October and are receiving positive feedback from local partners and communities.

Restoring neighbourhood policing across the country is a key part of the government’s Safer Streets Mission, which it says will see forces supported to rebuild relationships with their local communities and thousands of extra neighbourhood police, community support officers and special constables on our streets nationally.

The operational impact of the new model was showcased to a Home Office representative this week, which was hosted by Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden, Chief Constable Kate Meynell, Assistant Chief Constable Sukesh Verma and a number of other senior officers. The results, showing how the national neighbourhood policing ambition is already starting to be delivered in Nottinghamshire, were reported back to the Government.

Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention, Dame Diana Johnson, said: "I want to congratulate Gary Godden, Kate Meynell, Suk Verma, and all the neighbourhood police teams and individual officers, who have produced such outstanding results in such a short space of time, and are making a tangible difference to the safety of the streets in Nottinghamshire.

“The impact of local initiatives like this one shows exactly why this Government is committed to restoring neighbourhood policing across the country, getting officers back on the beat, and focusing on the antisocial behaviour and street crime that too often makes people feel unsafe in their own communities.

"We recognise what visible, effective local policing can achieve, and we’re seeing the success of that approach in Nottinghamshire. That's why we are working to put 13,000 more police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles over the course of this Parliament, and investing £100m next year to support that effort.

“The mission to deliver Safer Streets is at the heart of this Government’s Plan for Change, and this initiative in Nottinghamshire demonstrates exactly what that change means.”

PCC Gary Godden with neighbourhood officers.
PCC Gary Godden with neighbourhood officers.

The national recognition comes after Nottinghamshire Police recently introduced new shift patterns, ensuring all 12 neighbourhood policing areas have a consistent presence of neighbourhood officers on every patch, every day, from morning to evening.

A new abstraction policy also means neighbourhood officers are safeguarded from being drawn in to cover city centre night-time economy policing and events – so they are left to work in their own neighbourhoods at key times when they are needed most by their communities.

The introduction of new data dashboards - allowing officers to see crime trends, hot spot locations, as well as information on persistent offenders and persistent victims at a glance – is also helping drive more efficient and effective targeting of neighbourhood policing activity.

Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden is due to give a presentation on the neighbourhood policing roll-out at the next Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Panel meeting on 3 February.

Commissioner Godden has made enhancing neighbourhood policing one of his core priorities in his new Police and Crime Plan, which sets out a vision for policing and community safety over the next four years, and sees it as a fundamental part of restoring public trust and confidence in policing.

“I was really happy to welcome the government to Nottinghamshire, to see how the force has implemented this ambitious and innovative new way of working that is already starting to have a really positive impact on local communities,” said Commissioner Godden.

“All of the changes that have been introduced are designed to ensure neighbourhood police officers have better capacity to focus on serving their communities and are not routinely abstracted to help in other areas of the force.

“This means neighbourhood policing is becoming more of a specialist role, engaging with local people, increasing trust and confidence and working with them to problem-solve and carry out targeted activity on issues that matter to local people.”

A number of recent neighbourhood policing good news stories have highlighted the impact the new model is having in improving the quality of life for local people, including:

  • Prolific shoplifters Lee Keeton and Chantelle Monk were jailed in November following a relentless drive to curb offending by the Beeston neighbourhood policing team.
  • Newark’s neighbourhood officers also had similar success, with an investigation that saw prolific shoplifter Raymond Canham put behind bars in December.
  • Stopping off-road bikers and boarding up problem houses are two of the ways antisocial behaviour is being tackled in the City North area, covering Bestwood, Sherwood and Bulwell, with offences falling by 43%.
  • City West neighbourhood officers had a double success after shutting down two cannabis farms in Bilborough and Wollaton in December.
  • Bike thefts have fallen by 77% in the City Central area following a determined effort by neighbourhood officers to tackle the issue. Increased patrols, multiple arrests and bike marking events have contributed to the sharp fall in Radford, Hyson Green, Arboretum, Berridge, Dunkirk, Lenton and Wollaton East.
  • Neighbourhood officers in Worksop listened to the concerns of residents about antisocial behaviour and criminal damage in Costhorpe by increasing targeted high-visibility and plain-clothes patrols to reduce offending, increase reassurance and improve the relationship with residents to increase the reporting of incidents. In addition, two events nights were organised with inflatable play equipment and a rodeo bull at a local youth club in November and December.
ACC Sukesh Verma
ACC Sukesh Verma

Assistant Chief Constable Sukesh Verma, of Nottinghamshire Police, said the good news stories were just a few examples of the successes the new model was delivering, but there were many more.

He said: “We recognise the importance of neighbourhood policing and began this journey in 2023 when we reviewed our operating model and worked with key stakeholders to understand how we could improve our service.

“I am really proud of what we are achieving at present, and the initial feedback has been really positive.

“Officers are focused on the core pillars of neighbourhood policing, solving the problems that matter to their communities.

“We have also implemented a new Prevention Hub which complements our neighbourhood policing model with an ambition to prevent and design out crime, which is already seeing a number of successful results.

“An example is around our Immediate Justice Programme which is rehabilitating offenders and is proving to prevent reoffending.

“We welcome the visit from the Home Office and look forward to working with them more closely over the coming weeks and months.”

Nottinghamshire Police is also undertaking further work to ensure that residents know who their neighbourhood teams are and how they can be contacted.

This includes the reintroduction of team posters in our communities and the inclusion of pictures and contact details on Notts Alert – a free online service which gives its subscribers email updates on crime specific to their neighbourhood and an opportunity to interact with their local officers.

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