Operation Reclaim: How partners are tackling the major issues impacting Nottingham city centre

Restrictions on the wearing of balaclavas, a revamped Old Market Square, high-visibility patrols and further enforcement action are just some of the measures we are introducing to improve the safety of Nottingham city centre.

This comes after a public and business survey identified the areas of the city which are causing them the greatest concern.

Operation Reclaim, which was launched in May, is a partnership approach to tackling the major issues affecting the city centre.

The partnership is made up of Nottinghamshire Police, the Office of the Police and Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, the Violence Reduction Partnership, Nottingham City Council, Framework and It's in Nottingham, which represents hundreds of city centre businesses.

Issues include youth anti-social behaviour, drug dealing, rough sleeping, illegal e-bikes, aggressive begging and retail crime.

Using the Home Office's Clear, Hold, Build, model, we are making the city centre as hostile as possible for criminals to operate and ensuring the vacuum isn't filled with further criminality.

Partners such as Nottingham City Council will then implement measures to improve the street scene, which could include additional lighting and CCTV, to make areas of the city less desirable for criminals to operate.

There will also be continued investment in addressing the root causes of criminality, which includes the launch of a targeted mentoring model for children impacted by serious violence and a programme to help rough sleepers.

In May, we launched a survey asking for residents, students, visitors and businesses to let us know the areas of the city they felt most unsafe and what we can do as a partnership to improve their overall experience.

More than 1,700 residents and 160 businesses responded.

So far, officers have made 821 arrests, with a significant number of our most prolific offenders now behind bars.

We have also issued 16 Criminal Behaviour Orders, which includes banning offenders from entering the city centre.

There are also 35 young people on our watchlist, who are causing the most anti-social behaviour problems for city centre businesses and visitors.

Since visiting their parents and guardians and explaining the consequences, anti-social behaviour has reduced by 42 percent.

Restrictions on wearing face coverings such as balaclavas is likely to be introduced across the city centre before the end of this year.

Those found to be wearing one can receive on-the-spot fines, which will mean those causing problems can no longer conceal their identity.

You said:

Just over 55 per cent of respondents said they were unlikely to recommend Nottingham city centre to friends and family and that they felt unsafe in the city.

The biggest concerns highlighted by businesses and the public was rough sleeping, begging, youth-related ASB, drug dealing, knife crime and illegal e-bikes.

More than 80 percent of residents felt youth anti-social behaviour was the biggest problem impacting the city centre, with rough sleeping also being raised as a significant concern.

The public highlighted Old Market Square as the area they felt most unsafe, followed by Clumber Street, Sneinton Market, and the area around the former Broad Marsh.

In contrast, the Victoria Centre emerged as Nottingham's strongest example of a location where residents feel safe. Respondents linked feelings of safety to visible security, CCTV, cleanliness and good lighting.

A particularly important finding relates to Hockley. Although concerns remain, mostly relating to safety in the evening, residents consistently described Hockley as more welcoming, inclusive and community-focused than many other parts of the city.

Positive perceptions were linked to strong identity, independent businesses, cultural activity and sense of community ownership, with respondents commenting "people look out for each other" and it "feels more inclusive and less threatening".

Respondents have called for visible policing, targeted enforcement activity, support for the vulnerable, environmental improvements and stronger partnership working.

'We did' and 'Will do':

High-visibility patrols

• Dedicated officers on foot based in Old Market Square at peak times.
• Re-evaluating our police patrol plan to ensure more of our officers are on foot in the city centre rather than behind vehicles.
• Further increase in police night-time shifts with a 40 per cent increase on Friday nights and 60 percent on Saturdays.
• 24-hour CCTV operated help point installed in Angel Row for members of the public to use
• Nottingham City Council has now employed a total of 30 community protection officers, of which a majority will work in the city centre.
• Invested in the Safer City Partnership – which means high visibility patrols engaging with businesses and sharing information.
• Fixed point police patrols in areas that people have felt unsafe including the Broad Marsh bus station and Lister Gate.

Sense of Place

• Plans to transform Old Market Square into a greener, more sustainable 'central park' while retaining its distinctive open character. The first stage will consist of £4m of funding. ​
• Work with Homes England who are transforming the former Broad Marsh shopping centre into a development comprising of 1,000 homes​, which will help solve the vacant unit problems in Lister Gate.
• Support plans which will see the former Maid Marian College and NCP car park demolished to include 20,000 square metres of retail, office, and community space​.
• Use the Hockley model to create spaces that have distinctive identities across the city centre, which will, in turn, design out crime.
• Continue to implement closure orders, such as the one at the former Debenham's which has resulted in no further incidents at the site​.

Youth Anti-social Behaviour and Illegal e-bikes

• Dedicated youth anti-social behaviour police team, called Op View, to continue. 35 young people are currently on our watchlist and 29 Community Protection Notice warnings have been handed out. Further action taken if behaviour does not improve, which could impact on parents and guardians. ​-
• Continue to offer Immediate Justice – where those responsible for anti-social behaviour and low-level crime are made to clear up the mess they have made such as graffiti and other vandalism.
• Introduce restrictions on wearing face coverings such as balaclavas in the city centre to prevent young people from concealing their identity.
• Police have also seized 69 illegal e-bikes from the city centre since the start of Op Reclaim – with the fastest reaching speeds of up to 72 mph.
• Police have also deployed a device, funded by the PCC, which tests the peak top speed of suspicious bikes and e-scooters. If they fail to comply with the law, they are seized. More than 100 bikes have been tested.

Knife Crime

• Knife crime has reduced by 11.8 percent in the city centre since the inception of Op Reclaim.
• Nottinghamshire Police's dedicated knife crime will continue to work in the city centre.
• Extra funding made available to provide 27 additional hours per week of overtime to offer high visibility in the city to target knife-carriers.
• Implement a new education intervention at the National Justice Museum, which is focused on preventing knife crime, exploitation and online harm in 2027​.
• Implement a new citywide Young Futures Panel to identify and support those at risk of being impacted by serious violence as part of an early intervention​.
• Launch a new mentoring model with hospital, police and schools' pathways in October to provide holistic support to children most impacted by serious violence.

Retail Crime

- In July, police arrested 22 of the most prolific offenders for a total of 83 offences of shop theft. ​

​- 10 of the most prolific offenders have received custodial sentences due to their repeat offending in the months of June and July.​

- Designing Out Crime Officers will continue to work with businesses to make them less desirable for shoplifters to strike

- Criminal Behaviour Orders will continue to be issued for our most prolific offenders, banning them from shops or the entire city centre.

- Business app launched where more intelligence and information is being shared amongst the business community.

Drug dealing

• 29 people arrested on possession with intent to supply Class A or Class B drugs in the city centre since May.
• Uniformed and plain-clothed patrols in the areas we know drug deals are taking place including Sneinton Market and Upper Parliament Street.
• Hundreds of wraps of heroin, crack cocaine seized as well as cocaine, cannabis and MDMA.
• Eight percent reduction in drug dealing in the city centre since the launch of the operation.
• Dedicated police intel officer now looking at our urban street gangs and mapping them, which will enable officers to target those exploiting these young people.

Rough Sleeping, begging, and anti-social behaviour

• Framework has supported 128 people found rough sleeping into accommodation this calendar year – a 33 per cent increase compared with the previous six-month period.​
• Delivered a Rough Sleepers Drug and Alcohol Treatment Team - a proactive outreach service that removes barriers to treatment for people experiencing homelessness.​
• If behaviour has involved aggression, harassment, obstruction, drug use or other criminal and anti-social activity, we have taken proportional targeted enforcement and where possible, used the opportunity to encourage engagement with services​.
• Continued to ensure that rough sleeping itself is not treated as a criminal offence, while responding robustly where an individual’s behaviour causes harm or makes others feel unsafe​.
• In June and July 2026, 15 of the people found on the monthly snapshot count were long-term rough sleepers.​ Nottingham has free emergency accommodation available to people experiencing homelessness, which does not require upfront payment.​

Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden said:

"This public survey provides us with really useful insight about the issues that matter most to local people and will help guide how we collaborate as partners to prioritise our actions.

"I hope that by now, it will be really clear to the people of Nottingham how seriously we are taking this challenge by the work already undertaken, including increased high-visibility patrols and targeted operations to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour, the introduction of a Public Space Protection Order, and the new high-visibility officers keeping people safe on buses and trams, to name just a few initiatives by partners.

"We are determined as partners to continue to strengthen this close collaboration into the long term and ensure the improvements that are being made are maintained, so that after we clear out the crime and antisocial behaviour, we can hold it out, and build public spaces where people feel safe and supported."

City Commander Superintendent Chris Pearson said: "First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who took the time to fill out our survey.

"The results made for some enlightening reading, and I completely share the public's concerns. As I said before, and I will say again, we are determined to make the changes the public require and ensure we reclaim back your confidence in Nottingham city centre.

"It is good to see the public's concerns align with our priorities and a great amount of work is already taking place in the areas which make you feel the most unsafe.

"Improving the city centre cannot be done by Nottinghamshire Police alone.

"Partnership is key. I hope over the coming weeks and months the public will start to see the difference we are making.

"We want the city centre to be a place people want to visit, not avoid, and to drive out those who are preventing Nottingham from reaching its full potential."

Councillor Matt Shannon, Executive Member for Community Protection, Neighbourhoods and Equalities, said:

"These survey results provide valuable insight into how people experience our city centre and where we need to focus our efforts.

"We work closely with the police to ensure action is taken to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. And we’re putting our money where our mouth is, with additional investment to put more community safety officers on to the city’s streets.

“But this isn’t just about enforcement. The council has a crucial role in the Build phase of the Clear, Hold, Build, approach, helping to create safer, cleaner and more welcoming public spaces that communities can take pride in.

“The Build phase will focus on ensuring that after criminal activity has been driven out, areas remain resilient, and crime can’t sneak back in.

"This includes improvements such as lighting, CCTV, and deep cleaning. We’ll work closely with local communities and businesses to strengthen people's sense of ownership and belonging in their own space.

"It's great that places like Hockley and the Victoria Centre have been highlighted as areas where people feel safe and more connected. We want to build on those strengths and apply the lessons learned across the city centre.

“We would like to thank the more than 2,200 people who responded to our consultation on the proposed introduction of a face-covering restriction as part of the city centre Public Spaces Protection Order.

“Initial analysis shows overwhelming support for the proposal, with over 90 percent of respondents in favour. We will now review all the consultation responses before putting a formal proposal to the Executive Board for a decision in September.

“We welcome the strong public support shown through the consultation. The findings will help inform the proposal considered by the Executive Board, including further details about how any restriction would operate. We will continue working closely with Nottinghamshire Police and our partners as the proposal is developed.”

Alex Flint, CEO of It's in Nottingham said, "Supporting Nottingham's vibrant businesses and attractions to be successful, and increasing the economic potential of our city, relies heavily on how safe and welcome people feel when coming into Nottingham city centre.

"This is why we wanted to hear from businesses and residents about which areas of Nottingham city centre could be improved, and why we will continue to work closely with our partners to address issues and concerns.

"Only together can we make a difference in our city and continue to build its reputation, as a safe place where people want to live, work and socialise."

Dave Newmarch, Director of Property and Housing Services at Framework said:

"We continue to work in partnership with key agencies across Nottingham city, to ensure that some of the most vulnerable people in our community can access the support they need to move away from a life on the streets.

"Our newly structured and dedicated Nottingham Homelessness Pathway Team is focused on supporting people off the streets and into safe, secure accommodation.

"We are seeing an increase in the number of rough sleepers being housed, and our supported accommodation services and substance use support service - Nottingham Recovery Network - are supporting people to remain housed while addressing the challenges they face.

"We are focused on longer-term care, reducing the likelihood of eviction and a return to rough sleeping.

"We recognise that rough sleeping is a real issue for the city centre, and we hope that Nottingham residents and businesses will continue to see the impact of our work in the coming months and years, and that we can move nearer to our aim of ending homelessness."