On the Front Line

Councillor Paul Taylor said, “Ever since our first Multi Agency Anti-Social Behaviour Summit I have been working hard with our partners including the Police to ensure we reduce anti-social behaviour across the district. I have seen negative comments about Policing in Newark and I wanted to get out there and see for myself the great job that I know Police Officers are doing to keep us all safe.”

“It is easy to criticise what the Police do but I wanted to see the reality of what they face day in and day out because I was confident that they do the very best they can.  And I must admit, I was not disappointed in their efforts.”

“Having completed the shift with PC Will Brewer, I was extremely impressed to see just how committed, hard-working and busy our Police Officers are; they are on the go from the moment they start their shift, all the way through to the end. It is one job after another.

“Over the last ten years, Police budgets have been constantly squeezed and for the number of Police Officers on the front line, I have now seen for myself what a fantastic job they do. In an ideal world, we’d have more Police Officers up and down the UK and it is something that I will commit to trying to achieve for Newark and Sherwood. That is not something local officers can resolve, it is something we, as Councillors, need to keep fighting for and pressurising Government to do something about.”

“I soon will be attending my first meeting as a newly appointed member of the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Panel, and I will be using my time spent with our Police Officers on the front line to ask for increased resources across Newark and Sherwood.”

Inspector Charlotte Ellam, District Commander for Newark and Sherwood, said: “Tackling antisocial behaviour (ASB) remains a key priority for our neighbourhood policing team because we know how much of an impact this type of offending can have on people’s lives.

“Our officers do so much work each day to crackdown on this type of offending, and this has started to bear fruit as we’ve recently seen a small reduction in reports of ASB across Newark and Sherwood.

“As an example of some of this work, throughout the school summer holidays, we had a dedicated ASB rapid response car out each day across Newark to provide a visible deterrent on the streets and respond to reports we get quicker than before.

“This dedicated car will remain a common sight on the streets for the public going forward. 

“Our officers also now have the option of basing themselves in Newark town centre at a location provided by Newark Town Council, which has allowed us to carry out more foot patrols and get to more calls quicker than before.

“This type of collaborative working with our partners, including Newark and Sherwood District Council, plays a really important role in helping tackle crime in our community, so we’re very grateful for all of their ongoing support.”

Newark and Sherwood District Council is committed to reducing anti-social behaviour across the district and is doing all it can to improve residents’ safety. It recently announced that it is increasing its own resources by recruiting a new Senior ASB officer and, as part of the Safer Streets Project*, is improving street lighting, increasing CCTV across a number of town centre locations, reinvigorating the Shop Watch scheme and more.  Further information about the District Council’s work is available on its website at www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk

*The Safer Streets Project Is delivered by Nottinghamshire Police, the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Newark and Sherwood District Council.