Bassetlaw and Newark & Sherwood Police & Partnership Review

This review provides a snapshot of some of the great work achieved across the districts of Bassetlaw and Newark & Sherwood over the course of 2024.

However, it represents only a fraction of the relentless efforts contributed by the resilient and strong partnership forged by our Nottinghamshire Police staff and council counterparts.

Chief Inspector Clive Collings said:

"I am consistently impressed by the positive working relationships our staff have forged over many years with Bassetlaw and Newark & Sherwood District Councils. It is a partnership built on mutual respect, trust and genuine collaboration which ensures we are in the best position to maximise public safety and improve the quality of life for our communities across the area.

"Our resolute partnerships allow policing staff deployed within our neighbourhood policing teams to target criminality, engage with communities in a genuine and meaningful way, and work to solve the issues that matter to the public in conjunction with multi-agency colleagues. Working together, we are making a positive difference across Bassetlaw, Newark & Sherwood on a daily basis and it is inevitable this will convert to greater trust and confidence in our service among the people who live, work or travel through the area.

"I have been incredibly proud to have led the policing arm of our neighbourhood function throughout 2024, and am privileged to work alongside some of the hardest working, professional and dedicated staff I have encountered during my 27 years in policing. We have achieved much during 2024, in close collaboration with our partners, but we are not complacent. I am genuinely excited about some of the initiatives that will be launched in 2025 which will build on the progress made to date."

Case study - Operation Legacy

Operation Legacy is a joint initiative based on the management of low and medium harm, high volume offenders. The operation originated in the Newark area with the objectives of reducing crime, breaking the cycle of repeated offending and increasing local intelligence.

A small group of males were responsible for a significant increase in shoplifting offences within Newark town centre. These males were regularly in and out of custody, through the court system and frequently subject to ineffective punitive punishments including community orders. They were also linked to antisocial behaviour, harassment, violence and criminal damage, indicative of their chaotic lifestyles.

Motivated to break their offending cycles, DC Colin Howes, an experienced offender manager, linked in with housing and drug treatment providers, and the probation service, to develop a suite of bespoke options that could be offered to individuals. Based on a range of suitability criteria, local neighbourhood officers and partnership colleagues were integral in identifying the first 10 nominals who were offered a place on the scheme.

Legacy nominals are assigned a dedicated neighbourhood police officer who manages the attempts to break their offending cycle. This work includes accessing mental health support, arranging appointments with housing, the benefits office or drug treatment providers, assisting with housing applications, conducting joint probation meetings, taking part in enforcement and warning visits or being involved in sentencing engagement. A person’s involvement in Op Legacy, or refusal to engage, is documented on MG6s and noted by courts throughout any sentencing hearing. The strategy has been praised by the judiciary for its unique approach to reducing crime.

Of the initial 10 Legacy nominals:

• One is deceased;

• Two failed to engage and have subsequently received significant prison sentences;

• Three initially failed to engage but remain managed by Legacy;

• Four have been successfully managed into treatment and are not committing crime.

One year after Legacy’s inception, there was a 30% drop in crime perpetrated by the original nominals and a 400+% increase in intelligence submissions relating to acquisitive offending in the town centre.

A tangible example of the impact of Legacy is Terry, who was a serial thief, drug user and alcoholic with an offending history that included burglary, robbery and violence. After release from prison, Terry was recommended for the strategy. When officers first visited him, his house was a mess and he insisted on drinking a can of cider before he would speak. Terry had issues with debt, benefits, alcohol dependency and drug misuse. However, after intensive work (and some resilience after a minor drunk and disorderly incident in the town centre) from his assigned neighbourhood officer, and the assistance of many partner agencies, Terry has now not reoffended for three years and is living an alcohol and crime-free life.

The principles underpinning Operation Legacy embody the belief that targeted rehabilitation is significantly preferable to leaving members of society on a constant offending cycle. Now extending far beyond the initial cohort of 10 people, the strategy has seen lost lives recovered, a significant increase in intelligence submissions, and a reduction in offending and, by extension, fewer victims within the community.

This Newark & Sherwood-based operation will be extended to Bassetlaw in 2025, with a potential focus on marginalised drug-using females who are trapped within a very male dominated world and subject to violence and sexual assault in the future.

Events

Over the course of the last 12 months, in conjunction with an array of partner agencies, our staff have been involved in the successful delivery of:

• The Tour of Britain;

• Community Safety Week;

• Water Safety Days;

• Countless village fetes;

• Remembrance Day;

• Bike marking events;

• Armed Forces Day;

• The Dragon Boat Festival;

• Newark Festival;

• Know How Families Day;

• Manton Fun Day;

• Women’s Aid Fun Day;

• Food Fest;

• Worksop Bid Cirque Event;

• Dino Day;

• Worksop Pride;

• Worksop Christmas lights switch-on.

Results

Building on the substantial crime and ASB reductions recorded in 2023, you are now:

• 1.3% less likely to be a victim of crime across Bassetlaw, Newark & Sherwood;

• 14.5% less likely to suffer antisocial behaviour;

• 8% less likely to suffer vehicle crime;

• 2.2% less likely to be assaulted;

• 2.3% less likely to be burgled;

• 9.4% less likely to come across someone carrying a weapon;

• 12.4% less likely to be robbed;

• 16% less likely to witness public disorder,

than at the start of 2024.