More police officers assigned to target organised crime in Notts

The 12 Operation Reacher teams across the county, including Mansfield and Ashfield, will get two extra officers, so each team will now consist of a sergeant and eight full-time officers.

Since their launch in October 2020, the Reacher teams have arrested or dealt with 2,759 suspects, seized £657,000 in suspected illicit cash, and made 1,118 different drug seizures.

They also took 555 weapons and 779 illegal cars off the streets, and also carried out 836 searches at the homes and hiding places of suspected offenders.

Inroads

Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “I’m delighted our Operation Reacher initiative has made such big inroads in cracking down on organised crime in our communities and helping to keep people safe as well as tackling local priorities.

“I’m confident the addition of extra police officers to our reacher teams will only serve to boost their impact in providing reassurance to residents and give them even more teeth to drive down crime and violence.

“I want those seeking to carry out criminal activities to know we are coming for them and we will catch them and bring them to justice.

“Their expansion of the teams across each of our neighbourhood policing areas will also enable them to establish even stronger and more trusting links with the public through increased community engagement.

“I want to reassure residents the teams will continue to engage with them and listen and act on those concerns that matter most to them as we continue to swell our ranks.”

Caroline Henry, Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner, said: “Our Operation Reacher teams are at the heart of our neighbourhood policing efforts and are all delivering results by putting criminals behind bars, removing drugs from our streets and seizing weapons.

“I have been out with our crime-beating Operation Reacher teams to see first-hand how effective they are.

"In the few hours I was with Sergeant Matt Sisson's Operation Reacher team, based in Arnold, I saw the team make arrests, use automatic number plate recognition equipment to keep our streets safe and engage with the community they serve.”

The teams have also attended or hosted 1,300 community engagement events and developed 2,768 community intelligence reports.

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