Police in the City of Nottingham have released end of year crime figures for 1st April 2007 to 31st March 2008, showing recorded crime in Nottingham falling significantly.

Total Crime in the City has fallen by almost 10% compared to last year, which means there have been 5,780 fewer victims of crime, and crime has fallen across almost all categories, with particularly notable reductions in burglary, vehicle crime, theft and handling and violent crime.

The total number of Burglary offences recorded has fallen by 15%, which equates to more than 1,300 crimes compared with last year. Closer analysis shows that Burglary Dwelling has fallen by almost 800 offences, while Burglary Other has fallen by more than 500 offences.

Vehicle Crime (which consists of Theft of a Motor Vehicle and Theft From a Motor Vehicle) has also fallen by more than 1,300 crimes. Theft From a Motor Vehicle has fallen by more than 1,000 offences, a 16% reduction on last year’s figures.

Theft and Handling has also shown a significant reduction, with a 7% fall meaning more than 1,000 fewer offences.

Violent Crime (which consists of Violence Against the Person, Sexual Offences and Robbery) has seen a 9% reduction, which equates to more than 1,100 fewer victims of Violent Crime in total.

A further breakdown shows there have been more than 700 fewer victims of Violence Against the Person, while Robbery has fallen by more than 20%, or 372 offences.

There has also been a notable fall in Criminal Damage, with more than 1,200 fewer crimes being recorded compared to last year.

The one area of crime that has shown an increase is Drug Offences, which went up by almost 20% (381 offences).

Divisional Commander for Nottingham City Division, Ch Supt Shaun Beebe, said: “These figures are clear evidence that we are making a real difference in the city but it isn’t really about numbers and percentages, it’s about the people of Nottingham and making their city a safer place to live.

“We are having a significant impact on the crimes that matter most to the people of Nottingham, with burglary, vehicle crime, robbery, theft and violence all falling.

“We have also seen a significant fall in Criminal Damage, which I would credit to the work of the Safer Neighbourhood Teams now in place across the city.

“The increase in officers on the streets, combined with improving confidence in the communities, is making life more difficult for the criminals and we are determined to continue driving down crime in the city.

“This is highlighted in the work we’ve been doing to address drugs and drug-dealing, which is a significant cause of volume crime. We’ve been tackling drug dealers across the city through proactive operations like Operation Glacier, resulting in dozens of arrests.

“These arrests have resulted in an increase in the number of Drug Offences we are seeing, but I’m quite happy with that as it means we are getting more drugs and drug dealers off the streets of Nottingham.

“We have been working closely with all our partners in the city, and these results are a testament to the success of those relationships. I’m particularly pleased to see that the Nottingham Crime & Drugs Partnership has met its target to reduce crime by 26% in the city, as this was an extremely challenging target.

“Their work has ensured that all the agencies involved in crime reduction in the city are now working with the same goal – to make Nottingham a better place.

“Finally, I’d like to thank all the police officers, Special Constables, PCSOs, CPOs and police staff working in the City. These results are a testament to their continuing hard work, dedication and commitment.”

BCS Crime down in City by -28.42%

Nottingham Crime & Drugs Partnership releases 2007/08 Crime Figures, which show the Partnership, has exceeded its target (PSA1) to reduce BCS (British Crime Survey) crime in the City by -26% over the 2003/04 baseline.

The Nottingham Crime & Drugs Partnership (CDP) was formed in 2005 to bring together all the relevant organisations with a responsibility to address crime, disorder and the misuse of drugs.

The following tables show the 10 BCS crime types, (on which the CDP’s crime performance is measured) which detail the year-on-year reductions both in actual numbers and as percentage change:

Annual Figures

Annual Percentage Change

Percentage Change in 2007/08 from 2003/04 Baseline

Many organisations and agencies have worked in partnership together to contribute to these reductions. The local communities have also played a vital role by informing the partnership of the issues that affect them and by engaging with the numerous crime reduction campaigns that have taken place over this period.

Some of the partnership initiatives that have taken place over the past 3 years, which have contributed to the ongoing fall in crime, include:

Weeks of Action

To date there have been 16 Weeks of Action spread across Nottingham City. The aims of the ‘Respect’ Weeks of Action are to make ‘neighbourhoods cleaner, greener and safer for everyone’. The positive effects of the Weeks of Action have been far-reaching in the communities which have taken part.

Some of the headline achievements are:

• Made 625 Arrests and undertook 89 enforcement raids.
• Removed over 7000 square feet of graffiti.
• Conducted 845 Home ‘Fire Safety Checks’.
• Engaged over 6000 children and young people in activities.

The model for the Weeks of Action has been recognised by the Home Office, and recommended for use by other Partnerships across the Country.

SmartWater

27,000 homes across Nottingham City have been protected by SmartWater technology since April 2003, and 3,000 homes have also been target hardened, which includes window, door and lock security, as well as identifying other vulnerable points on a property. SmartWater is provided free of charge to Nottingham City residents.

In addition, SmartWater technology is deployed in special ‘Capture’ Cars and Homes, and has resulted in a number of convictions through forensic detection.

Community Response / Neighbourhood Watch

Since 2003, the number of Neighbourhood Watch groups has increased from 40 to 228. Neighbourhood Watch continue to play an integral part in the link between local communities and Neighbourhood Managers.

Neighbourhood Policing

Since 2006, the Neighbourhood Policing Model has been developed across all areas of the City, and Local Area Commanders working in partnership with Local Area Managers and the local communities have played a key role in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour at a local neighbourhood level.

Burglary Reduction Group

A multi-agency ‘problem profiling’ approach has been adopted with regards to reducing burglary, hosted by the CDP; this partnership group focusses on prevention and enforcement. The group has been responsible for the introduction of ‘Capture Houses’ it has worked intensively with students through Operation Country, and developed a variety of burglary reduction advice.

Vehicle Crime Group

Based on the same partnership format as the Burglary Reduction Group, the Vehicle Crime Group aims to prevent, deter and enforce in relation to the theft of, and theft from, motor vehicles.

A recent example of the group’s work was Operation Mutual, which ran successfully over a 3 month period in 2007. The operation targetted on-and-off street parking, the deployment of ‘Capture Vehicles’, intelligence led enforcement activity and high profile vehicle crime prevention campaigns. The operation also involved partners such as Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue service working together with private business to reinforce safer parking messages.

Crime Prevention Campaigns

The Partnership has run numerous campaigns over this period, which targets the following criminal activity:

• PARK Safely & always remove any valuables, Safer Car Parks – Parkmark
• Doorstep Crime and Distraction Burglary.
• Immobilise.com – property register,
• BURGLARS, You’re Marked!
• NICE – Point of Sale advice for high value electronic goods.
• Capture Cars and Capture Vans.
• Loan Sharks – in partnership with the Public Protection Unit.
• Disrupting the Stolen Property Market,
• FRANK the National Drug & Alcohol helpline.

All these campaigns have been endorsed and supported throughout the partnership, local businesses such as National Car Parks and Nottingham’s professional sports teams have also supported this work as have our local media partners who have covered these initiatves extensively.

The CDP also continues to work in partnership with both of Nottingham’s Universities, and has recently run campaigns that aim to reduce the harms caused by alcohol, and drugs among Nottingham’s student population.

Allan Breeton, Director of Operations for the Crime & Drugs Partnership said:

The excellent reductions in crime clearly demonstrate how much can be achieved by working together, but there is no room for complacency, the partnerships commitment to the people of Nottingham is to drive down crime still further and remove the criminal minority from our neighbourhoods.”

Derek Stewart OBE, Chair of the Crime & Drugs Partnership, said:

The reductions in crime across the city have been achieved through strong leadership, informed strategic and operational planning, and a committed and motivated workforce in all our partner organisations.

Alan Given as Chief Executive of the Partnership has provided the leadership, drive and vision which has helped change the ambition and aspiration of the Partnership and achieve reductions in crime, to levels that a couple of years ago were thought by some as unachievable.

We will continue to listen and respond quickly to the issues that affect local communities, we will endeavour to inform local people of our progress and continue to work together to establish long term solutions to further reduce crime and anti social behaviour from our city.”

Nottingham City Council Leader, Councillor Jon Collins, said:

"It’s tremendous that we have not only met but exceeded our crime reduction target over the past five years. Achieving a 28% reduction against a tough target of 26% in the ten key crimes that most affect communities means, above all else, that fewer people are having their lives blighted by crime in our neighbourhoods. It’s one of the things that people tell us matters most to them, so I’m delighted that the efforts we are collectively making are paying off."

"It shows what can be achieved when partners, determined to make those improvements for our residents, work together with communities. As neighbourhood policing is rolled out across the city and we continue to focus our combined efforts on driving crime down, I’m optimistic that we can build on this great achievement."