Police Christmas crime crackdown

A special team of officers have been drafted in to the area over the festive and New Year period to crack down on burglary and theft.

Over the next few months, the team will be acting on intelligence generated from their own activities and from the community, conducting high-visibility and undercover operations, executing warrants, and making arrests.

They will be sharing tactics and intelligence with South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire police forces and working together to conduct cross-border patrols both on foot in residential areas and in marked and unmarked vehicles on major routes such as the A1, A614 and A620.

The Neighbourhood Policing Teams will be touring the district offering free property marking, shed alarms and advice to residents and business owners, as well as visiting previous victims of crime.

Capture houses and cars — which are fitted with recording equipment to catch criminals in the act — are live, and all known criminals who operate in the area will receive personal visits by officers.

Detective Chief Inspector Mel Bowden, who is leading the operation, said: “Due to its rural location and proximity to major arterial routes, East Bassetlaw can be a target for criminals, who steal vehicles and number plates in one county and then use them to commit crime in another.”

“The latest statistics reflect a rise in burglary and vehicle theft in the area and feedback from local residents reflects a tangible increase in the fear of crime.

She added: “No one should feel afraid in their own homes, especially at Christmas time, so we have formed a team of plain-clothed and uniformed officers for a zero-tolerance, no-holds-barred approach to driving down crime in the area and to provide extra reassurance to the community that we are doing all we can to keep them safe.”

The latest crime figures for Bassetlaw since April 2012 show a 13 per cent increase (100 more crimes) in serious acquisitive crime, such as burglary and car crime. Burglary is also up by 13 per cent (90 more crimes) and thefts from vehicles have increased by 40 per cent (135 more crimes).

The areas worst affected are the more rural villages in East Bassetlaw. There have been 14 more victims (a 42 per cent increase) of house burglary in rural Bassetlaw compared to the same period last year.

There were also 62 more victims (a 71 per cent increase) of burglary of retail premises, commercial properties and domestic shed and garages in this area, as well 31 more motorists (a 48 per cent increase) who had items stolen from their cars.

DCI Bowden said: “We are cracking down on criminals, making it very clear that we are watching them, and if they put a foot wrong we will arrest them.”