By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
Work to tackle anti-social behaviour hotspots in Nottingham will be given a funding boost of more than £270,000.
Some of the funding will pay for an existing anti-social behaviour ‘response car’, which responds to calls from members of the public in real time, alongside more Community Protection Officer (CPO) patrols.
Nottingham City Council says it has accepted £274,000 in funding from Nottinghamshire Police, which comes from part of the wider £1.5m ‘Hotspot Response Fund’.
The money was granted to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire from the Home Office, with the intention of increasing uniformed patrols across the county in 2024/25.
A council delegated decision document says the money is to “solely to support functions delivering the Hotspot Response project”.
The funding could help help pay for patrols from CPOs, Nottinghamshire Police says, while some particular hotspot areas will get a dedicated youth outreach worker.
The initiative will run until 2025. Officers will be spending two hours in specific areas before moving to another.
In the long term Nottinghamshire Police says the scheme will help lower reports of anti-social behaviour by having more officers operating in peak times within each hotspot.
Upon the launch of the initiative on May 21, Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden said: “Targeted high-visibility patrols and local problem solving are the cornerstone of a good neighbourhood policing service.
“This additional funding will be a real boost to the coordinated partnership working that is already happening to make our neighbourhoods safer and I hope it will provide reassurance to local residents as we continue to build trust and confidence in our policing service.”
Council documents add that, without the funding, use of the anti-social behaviour response car would have to stop.
It first started being used last year.
The funding will be given to the council’s communities and community protection department.
