Neighbourhood policing week of action demonstrates the important work done in local communities

The week of action was organised by Nottinghamshire Police and, as part of the week, Newark and Sherwood District Council joined the Neighbourhoods’ teams in the Newark area on Tuesday 18 January, to focus on enforcement, engagement, problem solving and partnership working in relation to anti-social behaviour, licensing and fly-tipping.

Neighbourhood policing teams work to keep residents safe by patrolling key areas in their patch, analysing briefings, and visiting and listening to residents and victims. They work responsively to feedback and concerns from local members of the community. The councils’ public protection and environmental services officers work closely with the Neighbourhood policing teams and often work in partnership to achieve the same of aim of people feeling safe in their communities.

During the day, these police and council officers patrolled priority areas around Newark such as along the Sustrans track, Barnby Road and Clay Lane area, around Balderton Lakes, across Balderton, Newark town centre and other surrounding areas.

The team visited the Sustrans Track due to unfortunate and recent issues with littering, fly-tipping, and the recent defacement of a community graffiti project that included artwork from local school children and Reach. Anti-social behaviour in the area had also been reported by residents, and during Tuesday’s patrols officers visited ASB victims.  Officers knocked on doors of other homes surrounding those affected properties to check if they had experienced similar problems that may not yet have been reported.

Newark town centre has also been a priority area for the neighbourhood police in recent weeks where anti-social behaviour is causing a concern. Regular patrols of the area were undertaken after reports of individuals causing nuisance to market traders, and officers revisited Albert Street following an incident of criminal damage occurred involving paint throwing.  

The Council’s licensing team joined forces with the Town centre police beat manager to visit licensed premises on the day.

The repeated offences within the town centre and Balderton have called for the successful implementation of a PSPO that enables officers to direct someone causing nuisance to leave the area for a specific period of time. Anyone not complying with the direction to leave may face a fine or prosecution.

Each local area has its own neighbourhood policing team that consists of an Inspector, Sergeants and a team of PCs and PCSOs, and an Operation Reacher team. Each area has its own priorities and the team work to identify priorities in their given community and provide tailored policing and responses specific for their residents and their area.

Officers from Newark and Sherwood District Council will continue to work alongside Nottinghamshire Police, Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry and Nottinghamshire County Council to help prevent crime and improve security in the community through the Safer Streets project.

Councillor David Lloyd, Leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “Our uniformed enforcement officers work closely with neighbourhood police teams on a daily basis to keep our community and our residents safe, so it is brilliant to see that work being recognised during the national neighbourhood policing week of action.

“Hopefully this week of action will highlight all the different ways neighbourhood policing aims to encourage communication between the community, the police and the District Council, to help make residents feel safer. The public, working alongside the police is a great way to gather local knowledge and to build a relationship of support between our local community.”

Chief Inspector Heather Sutton, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Neighbourhood policing is a vital part in helping keep the people of Newark and Sherwood safe.

“Our neighbourhood policing teams work closely alongside our partner agencies including the council to keep the community and its residents safe and the week of action was a great way to highlight how well we work together to tackle any issues.

“The week of action was a way to celebrate the vital work local policing teams, officers and volunteers do all year round to serve their communities and take issues that matter the most to the public.

“It is vital that our neighbourhood policing teams build strong relationships within the community to really support local residents and show them that our officers are always there should they be needed to help deal with any issues that are affecting them.”