Crime falls on Newgate ward

Crime in the Newgate ward has been cut by 20 per cent and is still coming down, a new report has revealed.

Two roads – Gladstone Street and Newgate Lane – within the ward were identified as particular hotspots and have seen huge improvements with all crime down by 37 per cent on Gladstone Street and by almost half (48 per cent) on Newgate Lane.

Anti-social behaviour in the ward has also reduced significantly with a drop of more than half from 416 incidents in 2010/11 to 195 in 2013/14. Figures for this year so far show this is continuing to fall.

Insp Neil Williams, who has played a role in the fall in crime, said: “Being able to say crime has been cut in an area is always good, but to be able to say it has been cut and kept down is even better.

“With organisations working together to tackle all the issues at the same time we achieved excellent results and the people who live and work in the area have told us they can see and feel the difference.

“All the organisations involved are proud of what they, with the cooperation of the residents, have achieved. They are all determined to continue to work together to maintain the improvements.”

As a result of the outstanding reductions, a report to examine how they have been achieved has been produced.

It will be used to show other areas in the county what has been done to cut crime and keep it down.

The report explains that Newgate was selected as one of Nottinghamshire’s 15 Partnership Plus areas in 2010.

These are chosen using crime and other data, and work within them is coordinated by the Community Safety Partnership for the district concerned. In the case of Newgate, this is Mansfield Partnership Against Crime (MPAC).

MPAC formed a Partnership Plus group to plan and deliver a comprehensive package of actions and services to reduce crime and disorder in Newgate and to increase confidence among residents.

The work that resulted was a mixture of enforcement, engagement, environmental improvements and support. It included the use of Housing Injunctions and Acceptable

Behaviour Contracts (ABCs), installation of a CCTV camera, employment of a detached youth worker, summer holiday activities for girls at River Maun Leisure Centre, removal of the planters outside Ravensdale shops, removal of drying areas and providing parenting and family programmes.

The report detailing the achievements in Newgate will now be shared with Community Safety Partnerships throughout all the county as an example of best practice.