Nottinghamshire Police outline new partnership plan to help make the city a safer place to live and work

Nottinghamshire Police have announced a new partnership deal to tackle the issues that matter the most to local residents.

Antisocial behaviour, drug crime, hate crime, modern slavery and domestic violence are the key areas residents have told those involved in the Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership (CDP) to focus on. As a result they are going to form the cornerstone of its four-year plan.

The CDP is a multi-agency organisation responsible for tackling crime and substance misuse in Nottingham. It is made up of several agencies including Nottinghamshire Police, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, the National Probation Service and the Community Rehabilitation Company, Public Health England, Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group and the NHS and Nottingham City Homes.

The new plan, announced this week, will be implemented between 2021 to 2024. Working in partnership with the police, the aims are to help the force to: reduce crime; reduce hate crime repeat victimisation; reduce anti-social behaviour and maintain performance of successful completions of substance misuse treatment.

The plan forms part of the force's ongoing commitment to ensure that Nottingham is a safe place to live and work.

The partnership already carries out lots of work to tackle these issues, which includes commissioning and granting funding to high-quality specialist services, with particular focus on substance misuse, domestic and sexual violence, and those at risk of involvement in and/or exploitation from gang and youth violence.

Over the next year, there will also be a specialist support and focus by the partnership on risks that may arise from socioeconomic consequences of Covid-19; health and race inequalities; vulnerable adults; criminal exploitation of children and serious and organised crime.

Superintendent Mat Healey, Area Commander for Nottingham, said: "This plan is a commitment to the people of Nottingham and is a great example of the ongoing work of police and partners to make Nottingham safe.

"We are really pleased with our successes in the last few years to bring crime down in the city and the latest statistics released by the Office for National Statistics in May showed that all crime dropped by 17 percent in the 2020 calendar year.

"We intend for this to continue as part of the work of The Crime and Drugs Partnership and look forward to putting this plan in action."

Lord Vernon Coaker, Chair of the Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership Board, added: "I believe that we have created a plan that not only reflects the issues we face as a city, but sets out robustly how we plan to tackle these for Nottingham residents. We know that last year, Covid-19 has brought with it unprecedented challenges and Nottingham has been profoundly affected.

"The closure of large parts of the city centre and night-time economy and the lifestyle changes brought about by lockdown restrictions and homeworking have resulted in significant reductions in the volume of crime. Nevertheless, other issues have come to the forefront during this period, including domestic abuse and violence, hate crime and not least anti-social behaviour in local neighbourhoods. These changes have brought about many new challenges for partners across the city and we are as committed as ever to meeting these challenges and to delivering successful outcomes for the people of Nottingham."

Neghat Khan, Portfolio Holder for Portfolio Holder for Neighbourhoods, Safety and Inclusion at Nottingham City Council, said: "The proprieties of the partnership are still the core crime and anti-social behaviour issues facing the city. However, the past year has brought clear evidence of the impact of prejudice and inequality and we must recognise that racism and hate crime are still an ugly part of our society and that there is more do to in tackling these issues in Nottingham. Likewise, domestic abuse remains a priority for the partnership.

"It is clear that challenges remain across the city and by addressing problems locally and by tackling the root causes with partners we can deliver real change to the city and its people."

The full Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership Plan can be accessed here .