Nottinghamshire has seen a reduction in crime across the last 12 months, a report has revealed.
Various categories of crime have also seen a reduced number of offences, including crimes relating to drugs, knives and burglary.
Knife crime has fallen by -13.6% across the county, while stop searches and the prosecution of drug dealers are both up by over 100%.
The Force has also reported a decrease in burglary by 2.9%, theft by 10.1%, robbery by -3% and vehicle crime by 4.2%. Rape offences were reduced by -12.9%.
Offences involving the possession of weapons have increased by 14.4% (150 offences), but the introduction of teams dedicated to targeting robbery, burglary and knife crime are having a positive impact on crime figures.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford described the decrease in crime as “encouraging and testament to the tenacity and hard work” of the force.
He said: “We’ve listened and responded to local priorities with our partners, honing in on problems which continue to threaten our communities including drug dealing, knife crime, burglary and serious violence.
“Our tough approach to enforcement has been supported with a sustained investment in grassroots level crime prevention to help our young people and support offenders out of the crime cycle.
“This is epitomised through our Schools Officers, the Knife and Hate crime prevention programme and our Violence Interrupters.
“We anticipate being one of a small number of forces in the county where crime has actually reduced which is a huge achievement, positive news for our officers, staff and most importantly, those we serve during these unprecedented times.”
Paddy Tipping, Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “These figures show the real progress being made to make our communities safer and tackle the biggest threats to public safety today.
“Investment in specialist teams to tackle knife crime, burglary and robbery are paying huge dividends and this work will only expand as we welcome on-board additional recruits in the months ahead.
“Not only are we seeing reductions in crime in these areas but also more arrests showing the hard-line approach to enforcement is working.”
By Matthew Lee
Feature photo credit: Nottinghamshire Police