July - September 2025:

Knife Crime in Nottingham City Centre.

The priorities for the City Centre Neighbourhood team is reviewed every 3 months in a Multi-Agency meeting attended by the Principle City Council Anti-Social Behaviour Officer, Senior Community Protection officers, Licensing Team officers and police representatives from Integrated Offender Management, Problem Solving officers and Neighbourhoods.

The meeting looks at the data from crime recording and intelligence systems held by the police, as well as data from the Nottinghamshire Police Crime Commissioners Office and responses to the ‘What Matters’ survey submitted to the police via the Notts Alert system, in order to determine which matters are important to our communities.

The priorities selected do not detract from other priorities either locally or across the force.

Knife Crime in the City Centre has been chosen as a priority for this period due to a small number of knife related offences in the City Centre which have caused a reduction in feelings of safety and an increase in fear of crime.

We employ a multi-agency approach to tackle knife crime, working with public, private, and third sectors.

Communications and engagement activities support evidence-based approaches to reduce knife crime incidents and we focus on highlighting the dangers of carrying knives, enhancing public confidence, and reassuring the community. Improved training and education initiatives are in place, alongside disruption tactics such as Stop and Search.

Continued funding from the Home Office Grip and Violence Reduction Programme (VRP) ensures the capability and capacity to drive performance and reduce public risk through our officers carrying out high visibility patrols in key hotspot areas at key times to detect and deter knife related offending.

Nottinghamshire Police’s clear plan around tackling knife crime has been recognised nationally for best practice. Furthermore, it strongly focuses on the PCC’s ‘Safer Nottinghamshire for All’ undertaking, whilst putting communities and victims first, which strengthens partnership working and implements effective and resilient policing.

The increase in knife possession offences is attributed to proactive policing, with data showing that proactive local policing and collaboration with third-sector partners have led to more arrests and the removal of weapons from the streets. This proactive stance is crucial in deterring potential offenders and ensuring community safety. The use of intelligence-led policing and targeted operations has been instrumental in achieving these results.

Changes to the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 are expected to impact offence numbers. These changes include the prohibition of zombie knives, zombie-style weapons, and ninja swords. The introduction of these legislative measures aims to reduce the availability of dangerous weapons and enhance public safety. The anticipated increase in recorded offences following these changes is a temporary effect of the initial enforcement phase.

Between January 2023 and 2024 serious violence including wounding/ endangering life has dropped by 13.5%, assault with injury by 7.8%, homicide by 80%, and robbery by 14.1%. The profile remains a constant picture as there are strong links with organised crime groups (OCGs), urban street gangs (USGs), drugs, knife-enabled robbery, and knife crime.

Analysis shows links between unemployment, deprivation, and violent crime (which may worsen because of the cost-of-living crisis) and an increase in the number of young people who have been involved in knife related incidents. However, the data suggests that Nottinghamshire is trending in a positive direction. It should be noted that whilst many local authorities and partners are facing financial challenges, the serious violence duty as well as the violence reduction partnership are key enablers to ensure strong partnership working in this area.

In relation to knife crime we will deploy officers to patrol those areas of highest risk to deter offences and actively utilise powers of stop and search, where grounds permit this, to locate and arrest persons intent on committing harm.

Additionally neighbourhood officers will continue to assist in the investigations of knife crime offences, specifically where their local knowledge will be of most benefit in identifying offenders.

We also bid for and deploy the Force's Knife Crime Team in both high visibility and plain clothes patrols in the City Centre to assist.

JULY UPDATE:

Officers from the Knife Crime Team have deployed to the City Centre numerous times this month and made several arrests of wanted persons as well as stop searched persons in relation to knife related offending.

We also now have high visibility wardens in the City Centre on Friday and Saturday afternoons and evenings to act as extra eyes and ears, increase guardianship and assist the public. Further information can be found here - https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/six-new-security-guards-to-keep-an-extra-pair-of-eyes-on-nottingham-city-centre/ar-AA1IBOG0?ocid=BingNewsVerp

Our hotspot policing patrols continue, ensuring high visibility presence at key crime and ASB times.

Arrests have been made with regards to a number of knife possession offences due to proactive stop searches in the City Centre and we work with partners and the Violence Reduction Unit to deal appropriately with offenders.

Possession of offensive weapons offences spiked in the City Centre in June 2025 (with 19 offences). A high proportion of these were from increased proactive policing efforts (i.e. an increase in stop searches), which also lead to an increase in arrests for possession with intent to supply Class A and Class B drug offences (10 offences) and drugs possession offences (36 offences).

In July, possession of offensive weapons offences in the City Centre have dropped to 11 offences, possession with intent to supply offences have halved to 5 offences and possession only offences have dropped to 25 offences however, there has been no decrease in proactive policing resources in the City Centre in that time.

AUGUST UPDATE:

Possession of weapons offences in the City Centre have continued to fall (June - 19, July - 11, August - 6) and we have also seen reductions in drugs possession and trafficking offences and public order and robbery.

Officers from the City Centre Neighbourhood Team have also undertaken Operation Advocate - two simultaneous warrants on Booth Close with regards to repeated issues with drug use and dealing and associated anti-social behaviour. This resulted in two men being arrested on suspicion of possession of class A and B drugs with intent to supply and possession of an imitation firearm - https://shorturl.at/t9WYm

Our knife crime team continue to proactively patrol in both uniform and plain clothes and 52% of knife related arrests are as a result of proactivity.

We have seen a 16% decrease in knife enabled offences in the City Centre for this financial year to date versus last year as well as a 30% reduction this financial year to date versus our baseline year (2019/2020).

In addition, there has been a 16% decrease in violence offences in the City Centre versus this time last year.

The Security Guardians also continue to patrol the City Centre at key times and have received good feedback from the public - https://shorturl.at/G4TTY

We utilise s.34 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014) dispersal powers, enabling officers to remove persons from the City Centre who are likely to cause harassment, alarm and distress.

July - September 2025 Priority:

Retail Theft in the City Centre

The priorities for the City Centre Neighbourhood team is reviewed every 3 months in a Multi-Agency meeting attended by the Principle City Council Anti-Social Behaviour Officer, Senior Community Protection officers, Licensing Team officers and police representatives from Integrated Offender Management, Problem Solving officers and Neighbourhoods.

The meeting looks at the data from crime recording and intelligence systems held by the police, as well as data from the Nottinghamshire Police Crime Commissioners Office and responses to the ‘What Matters’ survey submitted to the police via the Notts Alert system, in order to determine which matters are important to our communities.

The priorities selected do not detract from other priorities either locally or across the force.

Retail theft has been chosen as one of the local policing priorities for the City Centre due to this being the highest crime type for the City. There are also links from prolific offender shop lifters with general anti-social behaviour, drug use and dealing etc.

As well as retail theft / shoplifting, we are seeing an increase in business robbery recording (due to a change in crime recording standards) whereby business staff are being threatened or assaulted by offenders. This is unacceptable. Nottinghamshire Police support the #ShopKind initiative from the National Business Crime Centre. It is backed by the Home Office and supported by major high street retailers as well as the nation’s independent shopkeepers, and the shopworkers union Usdaw.

The aim of the campaign is to encourage positive behaviours in shops, acknowledge the important role of shopworkers and raise awareness about the scale and impact of violence and abuse against shopworkers.

Our officers will look to deal robustly with any offenders who have committed business robberies or assaulted shopworkers.

In relation to retail crime we continue systematically targeting those repeat offenders who cause the most harm, ensuring they are quickly brought to justice and seeking additional orders (such as Criminal Behaviour Orders) to reduce the risk of their offending.

We also liaise with partner agencies and businesses to look at all available options to deal with offenders and assist with target hardening and problem solving.

We want to emphasis collaboration with retailers and encourage businesses to report shoplifting incidents through streamlined mechanisms (such as via SingleOnlineHome and being able to send CCTV over an online link etc.) which also assists is with a better understanding of crime trends to be able to adequately target repeat offenders, prolific offenders, hotspot locations etc.

We also work with the MLB officers from ItsInNottingham and are able to share two way information with them regarding offending.

JULY UPDATE:

We now have a problem management plan in place with regards to retail offending in the City Centre.

This allows officers to focus on the barriers to prosecution, look at hotspot areas and increase engagement with partners and businesses to increase our joined up approach to tackling retail crime.

Officers have recently achieved a further criminal behaviour order for a prolific shoplifter in the City Centre, banning him from the City Centre for two years.

We have seen prolific offender Ellis Bishop imprisoned for 26 weeks thanks to the work of our Neighbourhood Policing Team - https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/thief-dragged-wheelie-bin-filled-10318042?utm_source=mynewsassistant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=embedded_search_item_desktop as well as Raymond Ward receiving a five year sentence for multiple offences, including shop theft in Nottingham City Centre, and a Criminal Behaviour Order https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/nottingham-thief-threatened-stab-workers-10150166?utm_source=mynewsassistant.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=embedded_search_item_desktop

Our figures show a slight reduction in shop theft reports in the City Centre in July (from 255 offences in June to 200 offences in July). This is not replicated on other City conurbation areas so would suggest this is as a result of some good arrests and deterrence in the City Centre.

The positive detection rate (i.e. offences reported that result in a positive outcome, report for summons to court, charge etc.) for shop thefts reported in the City Centre is currently 27.5% (which is a slight increase from the 26.2% positive rate at this point last year however, there have also been more offences and therefore the quantity of positive detections has increased. The positive outcome rate for the City Centre Neighbourhood Policing Team is 42%.

AUGUST UPDATE:

During the month of August we have seen a decrease in shoplifting offences from June (255 offences), to July (200 offences) to 100 offences in August (at time of writing - 27/08/2025).

The positive detection rate remains at 27.5% for all shop theft offences in the City Centre.

We have also seen prolific offender Jerome Banton remanded. Banton was previously successfully issued a Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from the City Centre and has breached this numerous times - https://shorturl.at/nq8E3

We utilise s.34 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014) dispersal powers, enabling officers to remove persons from the City Centre who are likely to cause harassment, alarm and distress.

Officers continue to proactively patrol and arrest suspects as well as working with partners from ItsInNottingham and MLB as well as the Octavian Guardian staff and Nottingham City Council Neighbourhood Support Officers and CCTV operators.