Positivity as anti-social behaviour summit hosted by Newark MP Robert Jenrick, with Nottinghamshire Police, Newark and Sherwood District Council, and Newark Town Council offering public updates

There was a positive atmosphere following a public meeting on anti-social behaviour held this week.

The meeting, hosted by Newark MP Robert Jenrick, was held at the YMCA Activity Village on Lord Hawke Way, Newark and featured a panel of operational experts from Nottinghamshire Police and the relevant councils.

Between them the five guests fielded questions from the public and gave updates on what had been achieved to date.

Newark and Sherwood as a district has seen a 9% reduction in all crime in the last financial year, and a nearly 22% reduction in anti-social behaviour in the same period of time.

District Commander for Newark and Sherwood, Charlotte Ellam, said: “In terms of the figures, we’re starting to see some really positive improvements.

“The figures are moving in the right direction, but I tend to base my assessment on community feedback and we are receiving a lot of positive comments from residents and businesses, particularly in the town centre who have noticed those improvements.”

Inspector Ellam highlighted the police’s early pathways programme and its role in diverting young people away from offending as one reason for the significant change.

Another reason given was an increase in uniformed patrols through the town centre, as well as the addition of an office within Newark Town Hall, making it easier to respond to incidents and acting as a deterrent due to an increased presence of officers.

She added: “I know that there is some exciting investment coming to Newark — I really believe that if we see that investment in our town centre, it will have a positive knock on effect.

“This is a work in progress, and although we have seen a reduction we won’t rest on our laurels, we will continue to work and hopefully see even greater improvements.”

The Newark area has also been the recipient of several rounds of government Safer Streets funding, which has been used to invest in prevention schemes, the hiring of additional officers for anti-social behaviour patrols, and making environmental changes such as the addition of a youth shelter in Balderton and an increase in town centre CCTV through a partnership with Newark and Sherwood District Council.

Yvonne Swinton, the district council’s lead on anti-social behaviour, added that staff levels had increased, with the authority now employing four dedicated anti-social behaviour officers, a support officer, and a post created in the immediate justice programme.

Yvonne, said: “Through the immediate justice programme we want to ensure that when someone commits low-level crime or anti-social behaviour, they are involved in more reparations work straight away, rather than taking them through the criminal justice system which has on occasion let us down.

“We are one of the only areas in the country that is doing it — this is fantastic because it gives us another route to take young people through, instead of criminalising them.”

This reparations work could include anything from litter picking or the removal of graffiti, through to more positive activities such as planting flower borders.

Community protection officers have also been installed on dedicated patches, getting to know local communities and the issues they face as well as going in to schools to speak with young people.

Yvonne added that thanks to an increase in reporting over the past five to six months, a number of high-level enforcement action had taken place, including banning orders for problem individuals, and closure orders on nuisance properties.

However, she encouraged people to continue to report incidents of anti-social behaviour and crime, which can be done through the district council website or by ringing 111.

The district council also took a big step forward this year by voting to bring the monitoring of CCTV across the district in house — which will come into effect within the next two years.

They will move into a purpose-built CCTV suite in Newark, which will be monitored by people who know the area and allow officers to respond more quickly to issues.

Newark Town Council have been working with local sports and activities clubs to provide more opportunities for young people and divert them away from anti-social behaviour, which is often committed out of boredom.

The council also secured half a million pounds of funding to redevelop Sherwood Avenue Park as a more inviting place to be, with new play facilities and a skatepark, which is hoped will be completed by the end of the year.

Finally, Newark Town Clerk, Matthew Gleadel, added “Sometimes people are critical of almost providing a reward for bad behaviour, but sometimes these youngsters just need turning in the right direction.

“If you understood some of the backgrounds that they come from, they don’t often get the opportunities given to them that other children do — we as a society almost have to become their role models.

“I think we’d all agree that we want the futures of all our youngsters to be based on inspiration not incarceration.”

Concerns were raised about cars continuing to travel down the pedestrianised area of Cartergate in Newark town centre.

However, it was confirmed that police would continue to periodically patrol the street and issue fines where necessary, and conversations have already taken place with Nottinghamshire County Council’s highways department about the installation of a dedicated CCTV camera to catch drivers breaking the rules.

Beyond the issues affecting our towns, the police’s rural crimes lead Clive Collins, explained that this side of Nottinghamshire is much larger than other parts of the county, but historically has not attracted the same level of resources as elsewhere.

Despite this, investment has taken place to increase effectiveness in fighting rural crime such as the addition of three new 4x4 off-road vehicles to target hard to reach areas.

A rural crime prevention officer has been hired for the area who has been working within rural communities and talking to residents about how they can make it more difficult for criminals to target them, and a pot of funding has been made available to facilitate any changes such as installation of cameras or locks.

Additionally a business case is being put together, outlining the need for a dedicated rural crime team made up of specially trained officers.

Several members of the public rose throughout the meeting to thank the authorities for the actions taken in the past year, after noticing a marked reduction in the levels of anti-social behaviour and crime.

Overall there was a feeling of positivity that the linked up, partnership approach taken by the police and the authorities is working, with a commitment to sharing more frequent updates about the progress being made.

The newly-elected Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden was invited to attend the meeting, however was unable to attend due to a conflict with another meeting in London.

What do you think, have you noticed a reduction in anti-social behaviour? What actions would you like to see prioritised? Let us know your thoughts.