It has been a busy few months in Newark & Sherwood, and I have plenty to update you on.

Firstly, we have been going through a process of reviewing and restructuring the Neighbourhood Policing Model, with the biggest change being to the Operation Reacher team. Reacher was originally a sergeant and six police constables working as a stand-alone team and focusing on proactive policing. Those officers have now been amalgamated into the three existing neighbourhood teams. They will still be focused on proactive policing, with two officers on each team tasked to high visibility patrols, targeted intelligence gathering and supporting local problem-solving.

The key message is that we haven’t lost staff, we are just using them differently, and for me this allows us to have a dedicated proactive function more of the time.

We have also welcomed a new PCSO to the team. PCSO Hicks is a new recruit who will be covering the Riverside / Town Centre beat as part of Newark Team 2.

The team is being invested in through a refreshed training package around problem-solving, the introduction of an ASB officer, and the delivery of a new Toyota Hilux 4x4 vehicle to support our rural policing objectives.

Safer Streets 5 continues in the Balderton North area, and we have been working with the parish and district councils to support this scheme. The area will benefit from environmental improvements designed to deter crime and ASB, and the new youth pod at Coronation Park has been installed to provide young people with somewhere to go.

We work closely with the Newark and Sherwood District Council (NSDC) ASB team and have successfully taken legal action in relation individuals and premises responsible for crime and ASB across the district. This has included obtaining a Criminal Behaviour Order in respect of an individual in Ollerton who was responsible for repeated shop lifting and closure orders on two premises in Boughton. We will continue to work closely to use all available legal options to tackle crime in our communities.

In April the next quarter’s Local Policing Priorities were set. This was after consultation with partner agencies and based on crime data and community feedback.

1) Antisocial Behaviour – this is consistently raised as a cause for concern across the district, whether it is a neighbourhood dispute, a problem address which attracts ASB, or nuisance behaviour in our public spaces. We have a range of tools we can use to tackle this, but we do base our activity on data and reports from the public. If you are experiencing issues with ASB, you can report this to the police or NSDC. We have recently benefitted from additional funding from the Home Office for additional ASB and crime hot spot patrols.

2) Drugs Supply – we are well aware of the damage drugs cause to a community, and we are committed to targeting those responsible for the supply. We have had recent success in securing a conviction against one of our prolific drug dealers, and they are now on remand and awaiting sentencing. We will continue to gather intelligence and take enforcement action at every opportunity. Again, we rely on information from the community to support this. You can report this information directly to the police, or anonymously via Crimestoppers.

3) Vehicle Crime – we are aware of a number of vehicle thefts in the district and across the border into our neighbouring forces. We have an ongoing operation to target the issue and will have the support of the road crime team in the coming weeks. As a team, we will also be providing crime prevention advice through some dedicated vehicle crime engagement sessions.

The team are preparing for a busy summer, during which we will be focusing on local priorities as well as dealing with any issues that are causing concern for the community. We will be undertaking community engagements for the summer months, including a multi-agency water safety day, and the NSDC 999 Safety Awareness Day which will provide an interactive session for up to 1,000 school children across the district.

We will publicise much of our activity on our social media channels, so please look out for updates. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Neighbourhood Team on newarknpt@Notts.Police.uk or sherwoodsnt@Notts.Police.uk