Meet Ashfield's new neighbourhood police inspector

Inspector Mark Dickson, a former Detective Sergeant tackling serious and organised crime across the county, has been in his new post for just over a month.

The new role represents a “considerable change of direction,“ but the Inspector says he is “relishing the chance to make a difference to the daily lives of local residents.”

He “fundamentally believes” that community policing is about working in partnership “to make our homes, streets and open spaces as safe and enjoyable as possible. And that word partnership is all important – because effective policing is all about communities working together to tackle shared problems and achieve shared goals.

“That’s why Nottinghamshire Police regularly surveys local people to understand what matters to them and sets policing priorities accordingly. Currently, based on what residents have reported, my focus is on drugs, burglaries and vehicle related crime.”

Inspector Dickson says he will be giving regular updates on the “priorities going forward,” including drugs, burglaries, vehicle crime, Covid 19 and ‘working together.’

During the past month the policing team has reported that it has seized more than £700,000 of cannabis in three separate raids. On Sunday, May 31, officers discovered more than 400 cannabis plants at a semi-detached house in Bannerman Road, Kirkby in Ashfield.

More than £180,000 worth of plants were seized on Saturday, May 23, when officers forced entry to a property in Lindley Street, Selston, after a tip-off from local residents.

A house in Springwell Street, Huthwaite, was also raided by officers on Wednesday, May 6. A total of 235 plants with a street value of up to £230,000 were recovered and another man was arrested.

Several other drugs raids have been carried out to combat Class A drug supply and recover further drugs and firearms. Officers have also being pro-actively patrolling the district and drugs have been seized during stop and searches of people and vehicles.

Inspector Dickson and his team have also been working closely with Ashfield District Council’s Antisocial Behaviour and Housing teams to proactively tackle drug related crime.

He said: “I know that some people think growing cannabis is a victimless crime, but they are wrong. The large scale, organised production and distribution of drugs blights communities and ruins lives.

“In my experience of the word of organised crime, it is also often linked to offences of modern slavery – where vulnerable people are forced by potentially dangerous criminals into living and working in what are essentially drug factories.

“This kind of large scale cannabis cultivation can also be extremely dangerous to people living in adjoining properties. The heat given off by these kind of grows is tremendous and – when combined with often dangerous and bypassed electrics – poses a significant fire risk.”

He also points to significant reduction in burglaries in recent weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but he said the team had still been “proactive” in chasing up new and old offences alike.

A group of men were arrested on Friday May 15, looking to break into commercial premises in Sutton in Ashfield town centre.

Another man was arrested in connection with a series of shed break-ins in Kirkby and Sutton. All are currently on bail.

Inspector Dickson added: “I understand the pain and bewilderment people feel when their homes are burgled and I’d like to reassure residents that I will do all I can to tackle this issue.”

Re vehicle crime, he reported that traffic flow had “reduced significantly” across the district but the team had still been working to enforce the “Fatal 4” message around the four main killers of drivers and pedestrians – reckless driving including speeding, driving without a seatbelt or under the influence of drink or drugs, and using a mobile phone at the wheel.

It has also conducted an operation to tackle people who ride motorcycles illegally off-road, thereby posing a significant danger to walkers, cyclists, horse riders and others. This operation saw several pre-arranged “meets” disrupted when riders saw the police presence. Whilst running this operation several people also were spoken to regarding social distancing and vehicles seized.

The Inspector also said The Covid-19 pandemic continued to dominate the world and this has caused “considerable challenges to public services.”

Inspector Dickson added: “From a policing perspective crime has dropped by around 25% nationally; however incidents of antisocial behaviour have risen significantly.

“In Ashfield my officers and I will continue to monitor the situation and look to Engage, Explain, and Encourage people to follow national guidance, with Enforcement only being used as a last resort.”

The policing team can be contacted on 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.