Inspector Donna Busuttill, Nottinghamshire Police
Minutes:
Inspector Donna Lawton, Nottinghamshire Police, gave a verbal update to the Committee. She highlighted the following points:
(a) In year to date statistics Hate crime is showing the same number as this time last year. Despite recent national events there has been no upsurge in incidents as would have been expected. Nottinghamshire Police urges anyone who has been a victim of hate crime to report it;
(b) Violent offences have seen a 25% rise on this time last year. This is down to the new reporting criteria that have been introduced nationally and Nottinghamshire Police are confident that this is nothing that should cause concern;
(c) Operation Yearling was run in St Anns and Sneinton. A passive drugs dog and uniformed police officers were involved. They made 20 arrests, and 19 stops, recovered 2 knives and a quantity of illegal drugs, mainly cannabis and cocaine. The next operation is going to be running on 30 June 2017 and Nottinghamshire Police are keen that the community be involved. Community members are welcome to attend briefings and to come out with officers.
(d) A PCSO from the Clifton area has been assigned to the local academies, greenwood Road and Ransom Road. Her role is to target knife crime and work preventatively with young people at risk of being drawn into knife crime. Her work has been positively received with both teachers and students at the academies.
(e) An animal welfare day will be held in partnership with the PDSA on 19August in Sneinton and on 9 September in St Anns, there will be free microchipping for dogs and cats (cats must be brought in baskets), along with health advice and the opportunity for community residents to engage with animal welfare officers;
(f) In the area there have been a number of warrants executed. All but one resulted in arrests which indicates that there is a high level of accuracy in the intelligence Nottinghamshire Police is receiving;
(g) Following a spate of burglaries in the area near Carlton an arrest was made of a person who was acting suspiciously in the area. No offences were committed in the period that person was in custody and police continue to monitor the area;
Following questions from the Committee members and the representatives present the following points were highlighted:
(h) many young people who carry knives have stated that they do so to feel safe. They carry knives because they know others do, and hope that it acts as a deterrent. Many young people do not carry knives with the intend of hurting someone. This is the subject of some of the targeted work being done by the PCSO in the academies and is starting to have an impact;
(i) Nottinghamshire Police are meeting with the schools to ensure that when a young person is found with a knife this is reported. Action taken is very dependent on the circumstances;
(j) If citizens see people riding mopeds or quadbikes in a dangerous manner they should report this to the police, where possible giving licence plate details. Reports can be made through 101 unless it is an emergency, and will be followed up and investigated. All reports are considered when allocating resources and as such all reports are important;
(k) The Tippo public house is looking to extend their current licence. Historically the site has been the scene of anti-social behaviour which has had an adverse effect on local residents. Discussions are ongoing around licensing and a decision is yet to be made whether Nottinghamshire Police will be challenging the application
RESOLVED to thank Inspector Donna Lawton for her attendance and note the content of her update.