New neighbourhood inspector promises to listen to communities

The new inspector in charge of neighbourhood policing in Rushcliffe has vowed to engage with the public as his team continues the fight against rural crime, antisocial behaviour, car meets and shoplifting.

Inspector Tim Cuthbert has taken over the reins as the new inspector for communities across West Bridgford, Cotgrave, Bingham, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Ruddington and the large rural areas in-between.

After previously working as an officer in intelligence and international crime, he is looking forward to a new forward-facing role, making communities across this beautiful and vibrant part of the county safer.

He wants to continue to tackle the area’s key policing priorities – rural crime, antisocial behaviour car cruising and shop theft– as well as engage with partners and residents across Rushcliffe’s different neighbourhoods.

Insp Cuthbert, who has more than 20 years of policing experience, said:

“I’m honoured to be taking over the role of neighbourhood inspector for Rushcliffe. It is a wonderful place to live with diverse and exciting communities.

“We’re currently in a very good place with local crime rates falling – but I’m not complacent and we are determined to do even better.

“I am confident we can achieve this. We have more officers than we have had in a long time and my team are working on a number of exciting initiatives – alongside internal and external partners – that are designed to make the local community even safer than it already is.

“My experience as an investigator will help with this goal. I have worked in proactive roles, response and intelligence and have a determination to keep the most vulnerable people in our society safe.

“Our crime priorities remain the same. We know the impact antisocial behaviour can have on people - whether that’s because of noise, vandalism, drugs, begging, the use of off-road bikes, car meets and anything that causes harassment or is distressing to members of the public.

“Tackling this sort of behaviour remains a priority in Rushcliffe and we are continuing to make sure we listen to any community concerns, engage and educate people and where appropriate take action.

“Rural crime is another key priority for us. The team produced ‘Rural Crime Packs’ earlier this year, full of advice and information to hand out on visits to farms across the community – and these will be continuing.

“The visits see neighbourhood officers speak with farmers individually and the team hopes to visit every farm in the area.

“We will continue to use every tactic at our disposal to tackle all rural crime and protect those who live in our more isolated communities.”

Insp Cuthbert says the make-up of his beat team will be remaining the same for consistency and to allow neighbourhood officers to continue their engagement work within the community. He has three sergeants, 17 police constables, seven PCSOs and two civilian investigators within his team.

He is also keen to continue the work of former neighbourhood inspector Rob Lawton and take an active role in community initiatives and partnerships between police, partners and community groups.

“I’ve already received a warm welcome from local councillors and other partners, and I’m looking forward to building these relationships further.

“In West Bridgford we also have world class sporting venues hosting national and international fixtures and events. This brings its own policing challenges but also huge opportunities for partnership working.”

In order to deliver on the area’s policing priorities, Insp Cuthbert said his team would also need help from residents and businesses.

He said:

“The public know how they want to be policed so I need to know what they want for their neighbourhood, how we can make them feel safe and listened to and how we can deliver that to them.

“I am keen to hear from residents and businesses about any issues they may have. It is important the public know their neighbourhood policing team is there for them.

“Please speak to our officers while out on patrol or get in touch via 101 so that one of our team can call you.

“I promise that all information shared will be reviewed by an officer to see if we can take action and, of course, anything reported will always be treated in the strictest confidence.

“My intention going forward is to keep people updated on the proactive police work going on in their communities, to tackle our neighbourhood policing priorities and give residents the confidence to share their concerns to enable us to take the appropriate action to combat crime.”

You can contact the Rushcliffe neighbourhood policing team via the Nottinghamshire Police website or by calling 101.