Two shop thefts prevented during ‘day of action’ in Mansfield

Police and council officers joined forces for a coordinated day of action in Mansfield to address some of the key local concerns raised by residents and businesses in the town centre, including shoplifting, antisocial behaviour and casual drug use.

As uniformed and plain-clothed police officers, supported by PCSOs, council neighbourhood wardens and traffic wardens maintained a strong presence in the town centre throughout the day, two shop thefts were prevented and offenders dealt with. One was forced to pay for the item they’d taken and was immediately banned from the store.

Licensing officers from the police and council also visited several premises to ensure that they were selling alcohol in a responsible way.

“Altogether we had more than 20 police officers in and around the town centre – all supported by many other partners from the local community,” PC Kevin Marshall, beat manager for Mansfield town centre, said.

“Together we provided a very visible presence in the town centre and the response we received was fantastic. Members of the public were really supportive of what we were doing and we made direct contact with a lot of people who hadn’t spoken directly to the police for a long time so it was an invaluable opportunity to develop new contacts and generate better local intelligence.”

Inspector Nick Butler, district commander for Mansfield, said similar actions will be planned for the coming months.

“Over the last few months we’ve heard more and more from local residents and businesses about the impact of low-level crime and antisocial behaviour in the town centre. These types of incidents – shop thefts, aggressive begging and intimidatory behaviour – are unlikely to make the news, but they are a serious cause of concern for people living in working in the town centre,” Butler said.

The day has also seen officers engaging proactively with rough sleepers and tackling aggressive begging and other contraventions to the town centre Public Spaces Protection Order, such as cycling through pedestrianised areas and dropping litter. They also tackled issues like nuisance parking by private hire and delivery drivers, and alcohol and drug-fuelled antisocial behaviour.

More than 20 police officers were in the town centre throughout the day to both target offenders and engage proactive with members of the public.

Supported by a section 35 dispersal order, officers instructed a total of eight people to leave the town centre and stay away for a period of 48 hours. Three people were also detained for carrying Mamba – a potent form of synthetic cannabis commonly associated with nuisance behaviour. They were instructed to attend Mansfield police station for processing 48 hours later.

Two vehicles were also seized for having no insurance.

Executive Mayor of Mansfield Andy Abrahams said: “The council was pleased to support the police and our other partners in the town centre during the operation which we hope will promote public confidence that we take criminality and antisocial behaviour issues in our town centre very seriously.”