Offenders count cost as police and council continue to crack down on antisocial behaviour

Antisocial behaviour offenders have been left counting the cost as police and council partners continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder to tackle the issue.

Neighbourhood officers are continuing to carry out daily proactive patrols to prevent and reduce antisocial behaviour and criminal activity in the Netherfield, Colwick, and Gedling access road areas.

Officers continue to tackle the issue using both marked and unmarked cars and body-worn video cameras, as part of the ongoing crime-fighting initiative ‘Operation Triplefin’, clamping down on individuals causing problems, such as antisocial car cruising.

In addition, a three-year public spaces protection order (PSPO) came into force on 23 June 2023 - secured as a result of collective work involving local police and Gedling Borough Council - which prohibits car cruisers congregating in such areas and gives police powers to issue fines.

One year on since the order came into force, police and council partners have now issued a timely reminder about the costs and consequences of committing antisocial behaviour in these defined areas. 

Positive action taken over the last 12 months, relating to enforcement of this order alone, includes:

• 17 vehicles issued with Section 59 notices (these warnings come with Police National Computer (PNC) markers being placed on vehicles and individuals, meaning any similar behaviour in the next 12 months can result in prosecution and vehicles being seized)
• 13 people issued with £100 fines for breaching the PSPO. All of these fines were paid
• Five vehicles seized – as a result of people continuing to act in an antisocial manner despite receiving warnings
• Four vehicles seized for either having no tax or insurance - as part of a targeted operation covering Netherfield’s Victoria Retail Park

Gedling neighbourhood policing inspector Mark Stanley said: “Our ongoing operations and the positive results we’ve achieved during the first year of the PSPO send a clear message to those who commit offences and who risk the public’s safety, as well as their own, that such unreasonable behaviour will not be tolerated and will be robustly dealt with.

“It shows that when we catch people committing these sorts of offences there will be consequences for them. We will prosecute offenders and we may even seize their vehicles if they continue to be driven in an antisocial manner.”

PCSO Keith Crowhurst, of the Gedling South neighbourhood policing team, added: “I hope our ongoing activity to deter and reduce antisocial car cruising in these areas reassures our communities that we have listened to their concerns, we are continuing to take this seriously, and we are committed to finding solutions to issues that negatively impact on their lives.”

Councillor John Clarke MBE, leader of Gedling Borough Council, said: “The success to date of the ongoing operations is testament to the hard work of the collaborative efforts with Nottinghamshire Police to reduce antisocial behaviour, and in particular car cruising, within Gedling borough.

"We took the concerns of residents seriously and the resulting actions have clearly been having a positive impact and we will continue to support them to help improve the lives and safety of local residents.”

Car cruisers have previously been warned they could be prosecuted if they attend gatherings after the installation of a new CCTV camera.

The high-tech camera, capable to 360-degree viewing, was installed at the entrance to the retail park site, near the new Sainsburys, off Colwick Loop Road, following funding from the Safer Streets project.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire secured £3 million from the Home Office’s Safer Streets fund and has been working with partners across the county to implement a range of schemes to tackle neighbourhood crime, antisocial behaviour and violence against women and girls.

A share of this money was specifically allocated for the Netherfield and Colwick area, with Nottinghamshire Police and Gedling Borough Council working alongside the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to implement schemes which aim to make public spaces safer for all.

Four automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras have been placed in the local area as an added measure to prevent and reduce antisocial behaviour.