By Matt Jarram, Local Democracy Reporter
Major plans to bolster police numbers across Nottinghamshire to cope with rising demand will include recruiting 70 extra officers and staff this year.
Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry (Con) said a rise in the part of council tax which pays for policing will ensure an extra 45 police officers and 25 police staff are employed.
Twenty four of the officers will be deployed to Operation Reacher teams, which work across each area of the county to disrupt and dismantle organised crime including drug dealers.
The teams – based in each of the 12 neighbourhoods – use tactics such as early morning raids to target those selling drugs and making large quantities of cash to fund lavish lifestyles.
Four more officers will also be deployed to the two dedicated knife crime teams, which can use powers such as ‘stop and search’ to take weapons off the streets of Nottinghamshire.
A further five officers will also work in digital media investigations to retrieve vital evidence from mobile phones, laptops and across social media.
There will also be a force operational lead overlooking violence against women and girls, which will include targeting perpetrators as well as ensuring women feel safe on nights out.
Eight officers will also be recruited into the modern slavery and county lines teams to try to ensure vulnerable people and children are not exploited.
‘County lines’ involves a tactic used by drug dealers to use children as young as 11 from deprived estates in Nottingham as sellers and couriers in drug houses across the county.
Dedicated mobile phone lines are then set up so that drug orders can be placed with them, helping the organiser to avoid justice.
Last year, around 20 Nottinghamshire children were found in areas as far away as Scotland and Newquay.
Mrs Henry will increase the part of council tax which pays for policing by 4.1 per cent this year to provide an extra £4.8m. This is an increase of £9.99 for a Band D property, making the cost £254.25 a year.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The cost of living is increasing so if I was going to ask Nottinghamshire people to pay more money then I would deliver what they wanted me to deliver and that is more boots on the ground.
“I want people to know I am not wasting a penny of their money.”
Nottinghamshire Police officer numbers reached 2,380 in March, a number which has gradually increased from 1,824 in February 2017.
A government uplift of more than 300 new officers has also been achieved a year earlier than planned.
These extra 45 officers are in addition to the uplift. There will also be an additional 25 police staff investigating fraud, child sexual exploitation, and carrying out surveillance work on some of the county’s most serious suspects.
Craig Guildford, chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “I welcome these additional resources by the police and crime commissioner. I have deployed these officers into areas of the greatest operational need across the county and look forward to the difference they make.
“This will mean more visible neighbourhood policing teams, more knives recovered but also a quicker turnaround of the devices seized and subsequently presented to court.”
Other plans as part of the council tax rise include investing an extra £500,000 into Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras – which stop criminals using the road network by tracking their vehicles.
Mrs Henry added: “I want to make our roads really hostile for criminals, so we don’t have people coming into our area to cause harm. The city is pretty good for ANPR but there are more gaps in the county that we need to fill.”
She also plans to create a new restorative justice service with the cash to bring victims and offenders into contact where appropriate to consider the impact of their crimes.
There will also be up to £100,000 for each of the eight Nottinghamshire districts for the next three years to fund crime prevention in their areas including further CCTV cameras.
There will also be a dedicated point of contact in the police control room for rural communities affected by crime including the theft of farming machinery and poaching as well as new rural beat officers.
