Kirkby In Ashfield

Kirkby-in-Ashfield Neighbourhood Priorities

1 – Issue: Retail Crime

District wide we have seen a significant increase in Retail Crime, particularly within some of the larger chains within the district as well as highlighted issues around some smaller retail premises under reporting due to a lack of access to technology.

Action:

Operation Ghost Train has been set up as a district wide plan to tackle retail crime across the district with dedicated officers for each town centre working with retailers to ensure best evidence is captured at all times and that the process of reporting is streamlined as much as possible to encourage reporting and assist in securing prosecutions. I also now have a dedicated retail crime officer who is looking at trends as part of their daily role as a beat manager to ensure resources are deployed accordingly and repeat offenders are highlighted more promptly to allow swift enforcement and ensure that problem solving plans are worked on jointly to reduce offending and target harden repeat victims.

2 – Issue: Drug Supply and Use

Drug Supply and Use has consistently been identified through community surveys, beat surgeries and priority setting with partners as one of the highest concerns across the district.

Action:

Following on from the relative success of Clear Hold Build in Hucknall we are working with Ashfield District Council to ensure swift intelligence gathering to allow us to enforce more promptly and beyond this, look to identify vulnerable community members and children who may be at risk of exploitation through an affinity with drugs or the lifestyle they believe it gives them and implement improvements where possible to the local environment, such as CCTV which in turn makes it more difficult for drug dealing activity to go on unnoticed.

We work closely with partners in the Vulnerable Adult Support Service to improve referrals to treatment and diversion services and also with licensed premises across the district to reduce the recreational use of Cocaine by a different demographic to our typical drug user.

3 – Issue: Anti-Social Behaviour

Community Surveys and Calls for service data highlight that alongside my other priorities, ASB causes significant concerns locally.

Action:

We are reinvigorating Op Springboard in conjunction with Ashfield District Council as well as using Home Office funding to highlight those areas that are causing the most concern and effectively patrol them to allow us to highlight offenders and repeat victims and look to implement measures in an incremental manner to reduce the issues long term. Using Immediate Justice for lower level offending gives those causing the issues the opportunity to repay the community for the issues they have been causing as well as giving them access to outreach to dissuade future offending.