|WATCH| Police take to the streets to crackdown on ASB in Newark

A suspected shoplifter and a suspect wanted for a drug offence were arrested during a day of action designed to tackle antisocial behaviour (ASB) in Newark.

Neighbourhood officers patrolled the area in a new dedicated ASB car and took to the streets in plain clothes as part of an operation to help crackdown on troublemakers.

The Op Renegade car has been a regular sight for residents since its launch last month ahead of the school summer holidays, with dedicated ASB officers using the rapid response vehicle to get to reports quicker than before and provide a crime deterrent.

While the double-crewed police car was out as usual on Wednesday (2 August), officers from the Newark and Sherwood neighbourhood policing team also took to the streets in plain clothes as part of the day of action in a bid to try and stay one step ahead of offenders.

This tactic ultimately resulted in plain clothed officers making two arrests in Newark town centre.

While out on foot patrol, police spotted and arrested a 49-year-old man on suspicion of theft who intelligence suggested was wanted for five separate shop thefts between June and July in Newark.

Shortly after that, police came across a group who were shouting across the Market Square and, after running a check, realised one of them – a 19-year-old man – was wanted for an outstanding drug offence, so arrested him on suspicion of possession of Class A drugs.  

The day of action provided just a sample of the ongoing work carried out by the neighbourhood policing team alongside its partners to tackle ASB in Newark and Sherwood – where there has been a small reduction in reports over the last 12 months.

In addition to the introduction of the Op Renegade car, extra provisions have included overall visible patrols being stepped up and more plain clothes operations, while a new pathway has also been created with Newark and Sherwood District Council to stop reoffenders.

Sergeant Rob Harrison, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We know antisocial behaviour can have a devastating impact on local communities and affect people in unimaginable ways – we have repeat victims whose lives are blighted and ruined by ASB.

“The local community tell us that it’s an issue that’s important to them, so that’s why it’s a local priority for us and why we will always take reports we receive seriously.

“We know there’s lots of hard work to be done but it is reducing steadily and we’re working really hard to keep reducing it further. There’s a thin line between ASB and further criminality, so that’s another reason why we’ve invested so much time and resources into it.

“We’ve now got the dedicated car acting on reports and dealing with offenders there and then. This means we can respond quicker to reports of ASB under blue lights if we need to and have officers there catching people in the act and dealing with it quickly and robustly.”

Sgt Harrison added: “Our officers have been out and about in the dedicated Op Renegade car as part of our latest day of action, while we also carried out a plain clothes operation in the town centre.

“This led to us arresting two suspects for different offences, so that just proves the effectiveness of us being out and about to help identify potential offenders, as well as deterring and acting on reports of ASB, which is what we want to do.

“Our goal is to make Newark a safer place and a better place for people to live, work and visit.

“We’ll keep doing that and there will be more days of action to come, while the Op Renegade car will also be out and about and will continue to deal with incidents of ASB.”