More street patrols to tackle anti-social behaviour and serious violence

Nottinghamshire Police has been given around £1.5 million in funding from the Home Office to help combat anti-social behaviour and serious violence.

The investment, known as the Hotspot Response Fund, will go towards increasing uniform patrols across the county in 2024/25.

Previously Nottinghamshire Police was awarded funding to target serious violence, but this new investment will now have an added focus of targeting anti-social behaviour.

The high-vis foot patrols will be deployed to 18 areas, some of which have the highest rates of anti-social behaviour and serious violence offences.

Officers will spend dedicated patrol time to engage with communities and provide a visible presence during peak times for crime in each hotspot.

Some of the areas include Old Market Square, the Lace Market, Hyson Green, Hucknall East, Arnold town centre and Newark.

The project aims to reduce the number of weapon-enabled offences and reports of anti-social behaviour which includes drug misuse and criminal damage.

It’s hoped in the long term that the patrols will increase trust and confidence in the police and help people feel safer in the community.

The money will also go towards funding patrols for local authority staff such as community safety wardens and Business Improvement District (BID) patrol staff, as well as towards a dedicated youth outreach worker for areas that have particularly high levels of anti-social behaviour.

Areas will also be able to access money to help them with improvements to their community and address complex problems.

Superintendent Heather Maelor, head of the Prevention Hub at Nottinghamshire Police and project lead, said:

“We welcome this additional funding from the Home Office to help us tackle serious violence, anti-social behaviour and reduce offending in these areas.

“It’s a top priority for us as a force to tackle anti-social behaviour and serious violence in Nottinghamshire. A focus of our work to solve these issues is to put in place solutions that provide long lasting improvements to areas, beyond the terms of the funding.

“This funding will help provide additional officer time on the street to ensure residents and their communities are kept safe whilst they are out and about in the county.

“We are looking forward to working with our partners including councils across the county and the Business Improvement District (BID) with this multi-agency approach.

“We know that anti-social behaviour is a key concern for residents and this funding will help us address the issues affecting our communities.”