In conjunction with our partners at Ashfield District Council, your voices as the community and analysis completed of where our primary causes for concern are we have agreed that our priorities will be as follows for the period July 2025 to September 2025 inclusive
These will be reviewed in September through our Multi Agency meeting held each month where colleagues from the police, community safety, anti social behaviour teams, domestic violence, probation and others discuss where we need to focus our efforts to improve the communities you reside in and make Ashfield a safer place to live, work and visit.

1. Retail Crime:

Retail Crime will remain one of my main priorities as it is still key for us to work with retail premises district wide to ensure their staff remain safe and we improve reporting and reduce incidents.

2. Drug Supply and Use:

Drug Supply and Use has consistently been identified through community surveys, beat surgeries and priority setting with partners as one of the highest concerns across the district.

3. Anti-Social Behaviour:

Community Surveys and calls for service data highlight that alongside my other priorities, ASB causes significant concerns locally, particularly ASB caused by E-Scooters and off road bikes.

1. Retail Crime:

Operation Ghost Train is still running and this has seen us reduce retail crime by 4% year on year as well as bringing it down by 25% since the start of 2025. This has allowed us to prosecute large numbers of our most prolific offenders giving us a positive disposal rate of 36%, again a significant improvement since the beginning of the year as well as issue numerous Criminal Behaviour Orders to give us greater powers of enforcement.

We will continue to work with our retail partners across the district to streamline reporting and the time it takes from reporting through to prosecution and use problem solving plans where appropriate to strengthen retailers and our ability to deal with the issue as well as develop our response to our most prolific offenders to minimise the harm they cause.

2. Drug Supply and Use:

In the last 3 months we have executed over 12 warrants linked to drug dealing and from joint working with our partners in Ashfield District Council, taken back control of 6 properties across the district that were causing law abiding residents significant disruption and alarm.

Where we have identified vulnerability we have signposted individuals through to appropriate support networks as well as launching our Helping Hands partnership events with Sutton Town Centre to support those affected by drug and alcohol addiction.

We have also proactively enforced on numerous properties linked to the cultivation of cannabis and all investigations against offenders remain ongoing whilst we await forensic results.

3. Anti-Social Behaviour:

We have had new home office funding to increase our hot spot patrols within Hucknall and Sutton in Ashfield as well as now developing a problem solving plan for the issues within Kirkby to allow us to ensure we are in the right place at the right time.

In the last month alone we have continued to focus on E-Scooters, Surron E-Bikes and pit bikes on the streets of Ashfield and we will continue to work on this issue to educate people around the legality of these vehicles and enforce where there is a clear disregard for the nuisance these vehicles cause.

We are also looking to work with some Youth service provisions moving to the end of the year to provide some diversionary activities for some of our young people to provide something meaningful to be involved in and keep them from becoming distracted and causing issues in our town centres.