Newark and Sherwood District Council’s continued crackdown on anti-social behaviour
A council is continuing its work to crackdown on anti-social behaviour and create a safer district for residents, businesses and visitors.
Newark and Sherwood District Council has implemented a range of successful measures to reduce incidents of anti-social behaviour and deter offenders over the past year, with the latest report by Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood Community Safety Partnership (BNSCSP) showing that anti-social behaviour is down year on year in our district.
The report stated that anti-social behaviour was down 10% in August and 9% in September, when compared to the same periods last year.
The figures include decreases in the Castle, Beacon and Devon wards of Newark, where partners from the council, Nottinghamshire Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) have been targeting a reduction through the Safer Streets project.
Over £1m has already been invested into the district through the Safer Streets project and has funded security measures such as gating, lighting and CCTV cameras to help deter and capture anti-social behaviour.
A fifth round of funding was recently announced where Balderton is set to share in the almost £1 million of funding that will be invested into the county.
The council has worked with Nottinghamshire Police and Newark Town Council to implement a Police Hub in Newark Town Hall.
This office base has led to an increase in arrests in the town centre by allowing police officers and community protection officers to respond to incidents more efficiently and effectively.
Future plans involve hiring a dedicated Newark Town Centre anti-social behaviour officer who will work from the police hub.
The visibility of community protection officers who patrol the district daily was also strengthened this year, by taking into account locations and times of patrols, and investment in an additional hybrid vehicle and charging point, allowing them to work more flexibly and increase the presence of officers across the district.
Several injunctions and criminal behaviour orders have also been served, including the banning of three teenagers from the town centre.
The second Anti-Social Behaviour Summit was held in October 2023 and was attended by Newark and Sherwood District Council, Nottinghamshire Police, the Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner and other partners from the district, to discuss the on-going work to combat anti-social behaviour and the plans for the future.
Paul Taylor, portfolio holder for public protection and community relations, said: “There are a range of measures we have put in place to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour over the last few months. Our approach to partnership working is yielding great results.
“We are working closely with the Police, Newark Town Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner offering youth engagement and education, target hardening and much more.
“It is always encouraging to see these initiatives having a positive impact, but we know that there is more work to be done through our effective partnership working approach.
“Reflecting on what has been done so far is a vital part of improving the safety of our district as we can see from the past year what is working successfully and what more we can do as we move forward.
He added: “I want to encourage residents and businesses to join us in our work against anti-social behaviour, and to help us by being our eyes and ears of the community and always reporting incidents via the proper channels so we can investigate and stop offenders in their tracks.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish as we continue to work with residents and partners and I know one thing that is clear — when we all work together, we can achieve great things.”
