Meet Eastwood's new policing boss who vows to get tough on crime

Inspector Mike Ebbins has been a Nottinghamshire Police officer for 20 years, with most of his service spent as an investigator, working in a number of different crime areas including serious organised crime and modern slavery.

Inspector Ebbins and his local teams are determined to tackle and reduce incidents of burglary, drugs and road crime after reviewing crime trends and listening to the concerns of local residents and businesses and what issues they have said matter most to them.

He said: “I’m excited to be taking over the role of neighbourhood inspector for the district.

“Having now met all my neighbourhood teams and our partners I am confident we have the right people needed to achieve results on this area.

“I’m pleased that house burglaries continue to decrease across the borough, however we will never be complacent and we need to keep the pressure on as the impact on burglary victims is so great.

“Our operation in Eastwood will continue to focus on the drugs trade operating in the area. It entails high-visibility patrols, covert activity and proactive, intelligence-led targeting of key suspects, including the enforcement of search warrants wherever this is possible.

“We will work with and alongside internal and external partners to achieve our aims in this. Additionally we will work with housing sector partners to pursue eviction and closure proceedings against problem premises.”

Alongside this, high-visibility and plain clothes operations will be taking place to crack down on shop theft in the Giltbrook area, warrant activity will be continuing to tackle the supply of illegal drugs and officers and council partners will be engaging with residents and listening to their concerns during patch walks in their areas.

Insp Ebbins added: “In order to achieve our aims I want the community to continue to tell us what issues are causing them concern and to have the confidence to report information to us.

“I promise that all information shared will be reviewed by an officer to see if we can take action and, of course, anything reported will always be treated in the strictest confidence.

“My intention going forward is to keep people updated on the proactive police work going on in their communities to tackle our neighbourhood policing priorities, giving them the confidence to share their concerns and enabling us to take the appropriate action to combat crime.”

Some crime-fighting updates for the Eastwood area include:

- On 14 December 2021 – a 31-year-old man, who has strong connections to Eastwood, was arrested after a warrant was conducted at an address in Top Valley. He was detained on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug, possession of cannabis, criminal property and prohibited ammunition. He was subsequently released under investigation while enquiries continue.

- On 17 December 2021 – Jordan Bradshaw, 27, of no fixed address, was jailed for two years following a firearms discharge in Eastwood. Bradshaw was seen with a gun as the disorder broke out between Oak Drive and Woodland Way on 23 August 2021. Police were called after a group were seen arguing and witnesses saw Bradshaw point the gun in the air and fire shots. He then pointed the gun at a woman and made threats to her before firing his weapon into the air a second time. Officers were quickly on scene and made arrests.

- On 29 December 2021 – a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of burglary by Operation Reacher team members after they carried out searches at his home in Eastwood. He was subsequently released on conditional bail while enquiries continue.

People can report concerns about crime in their area by calling Nottinghamshire Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, dial 999.