Specialist knife crime team helping make Nottinghamshire's streets safer

These specialist officers carry out targeted patrols across different parts of the county each day in a bid to identify potential criminals – including knife carriers.

The policing techniques used by the force’s two dedicated knife crime teamshave played a major role in reducing overall knife crime in Nottinghamshire by 2 per cent over the last year and by 9 per cent when compared with levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic.

Led by real time intelligence accessed through an in-car computer and using their own policing instincts out on the roads, knife crime team officers work together to zero in on those potentially involved in weapon-enabled crime.

The latest example took place on July 28 when the county team was out on patrol around Arnold and spotted a group of people acting suspiciously.

After spotting officers approaching, the group tried to flee and a short foot chase took place, which ended when the knife crime team found five suspects hiding in a garden.

A knife was then discovered nearby when the officers retraced the steps taken during the pursuit, and five boys – one aged 14, three 15-year-olds and one aged 16 – were arrested on suspicion of possession of a knife in a public place.

The county knife crime team made 29 arrests for different offences throughout July, with their actions leading to four blades being taken off the streets during that time.

Among the weapons seized was a Samurai sword, which the team found after pulling over a car during a patrol in Mansfield, with this stop leading to a suspect being charged.

A total of 58 intelligence-led stop and searches were carried out by the team last month.

These stops did not just lead to knife crime offences being identified though, with the team also making 15 drug seizures while out on patrol and seizing 12 vehicles for driving offences too.

Sergeant Jonny Groves, of the county knife team, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the work my team does each day to try to make the streets safer.

“While our priority is obviously to target potential knife-carriers and crackdown on weapon-enabled crime, we do often come across a range of other offences too, due to us being out on the roads in the way we are.

“It is common for those who carry knives to have links to wider criminality like organised crime groups and the drugs trade, so by targeting suspected drug dealers we see on patrol as well, we do often uncover weapons in this way, while also making drug seizures in the process.

“Being out and about on the streets carrying out our patrols also allows us to spot suspicious behaviour that we might not have otherwise known about, which in turn inevitably leads to us uncovering criminal activity.

“Any knife or offensive weapon we can take off the streets ultimately helps make our communities safer, so it’s pleasing to be able to make this difference through the work we do.”