We will never give up

The funerals of PC Nicola Hughes and PC Fiona Bone took place yesterday and this morning. Every single police officer in the county, the nation even, was thinking about them at that time.

Not coming home after a shift is the last thing on our minds, but it is a common fear carried by our families. The recent deaths act as a chilling reminder of the risks we take in our daily quest to protect and serve the public and we remember those from Nottinghamshire Police who have died in service. Their dedication and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

On to news from the North West beat, we have been experiencing a spate of metal thefts and commercial burglaries in recent months, primarily in and around the Dukeries Industrial Estate.

This has been frustrating, as elsewhere crime is down. In response, we have been running a number of targeted operations both in plain clothes and uniform.

During one such operation we seized a Ford Transit van in Stadium Close. The occupants fled, but inside we found the vehicle full to the brim with various suspected stolen metals.

Further enquiries led us to South Yorkshire, where the van had been stolen from. It was also on false plates.

The van and metal are currently subject to forensic investigation. Here’s hoping we can track down the culprits.

Since then, we seem to have put the scarers on offenders in the area — and rightly so — because we have seen a decrease in crime on the patch for the first time since April, with the rate currently sitting at a 4.6 per cent reduction. But we won’t stop there.

We have been linking in with our neighbouring forces in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire to plan a blitz on rural crime during October, this includes metal and diesel theft.