Specialist detectives driving down burglary and robbery numbers across Bassetlaw and Nottinghamshire

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that burglaries fell by 21 per cent in the 12 months to December, whilst robberies also fell by eight per cent.

Overall, crime rose nationally and locally as many of the Covid restrictions were eased.

However, Nottinghamshire was significantly lower than national average and many of its neighbouring forces.

Recorded knife crime in Nottinghamshire fell at double the rate of the national average in England and Wales, with a drop of eight percent recorded.

Nottinghamshire also recorded the lowest number of homicides in the East Midlands region, with seven offences reported compared to 13 the year before.

The sustained falls in burglaries and robberies, which have fallen by 41 per cent and 34 per cent respectively over the last three years, have coincided with the introduction of specialist teams of detectives who work every day to tackle these offences and bring perpetrators to justice.

More than 30 detectives currently work in four specialist burglary and robbery teams operating in the city of Nottingham and the wider county.

Detective Inspector Kayne Rukas, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “These specialist teams were introduced in 2018 and 2019 after a period of sustained increases in these types of offences and the results speak for themselves, with numbers before, during and after the Covid pandemic showing a continued and marked decline.

“By having specialist teams of detectives who work every day on these types of offences we have far better oversight of all the offences taking place and are more able to spot patterns of offending.

“That allows us to focus our resources more effectively and to target specific offenders who are known to operate in certain ways.

“Ultimately, that allows us to link offenders to more crimes, get them through the courts more quickly and get them locked up for longer.”

Significant funding from the Government’s Safer Streets Fund has also gone into the introduction of specialist burglary prevention officers who are embedded with neighbourhood teams.

The money, secured by police and crime commissioner Caroline Henry, is being used to fund security improvements in areas that have been targeted by burglars in the past.

These include new locks, CCTV cameras and alarm systems.

Recent successes for the Force’s burglary team include the conviction of distraction burglar Liam Schneider, who targeted a string of elderly victims, including one 86-year-old woman, living in supported accommodation in the Basford area.

Schneider, 46, a career criminal with multiple previous convictions, was jailed in March for more than ten years.

Chief Constable Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “Behind every one of these statistics is a person and a family who have been the victim of extremely upsetting crimes.

“We understand just how awful it is for victims who have their homes and their lives violated by burglars and muggers and are determined to do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice and prevent these crimes from happening in the first place.

“I am delighted that these numbers continue to fall and would like to thank all the officers who have been working so hard to drive these offences down.”

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