No hiding place for drug dealers in troubled estate’s jitties
POLICE TAKE TO BIKES TO HUNT DOWN CRIMINALS
A POLICE inspector has outlined the force’s plan to clamp down on drug dealing which is causing “havoc” on a Nottinghamshire housing estate.
The Carsic estate in Sutton-inashfield has been a hotbed for drug-related crimes and antisocial behaviour for a number of months.
The estate became the centre of a series of police investigations after crime in the area turned violent, including a stabbing and an assault with a golf club.
Residents have repeatedly spoken out about frequent drug dealing blighting the area, with syringes left in peoples’ gardens and dealings taking place in jitties.
It has led to a targeted approach from police, with warrants taking place in the area to clamp down on drug crimes and the estate being made a “priority area”.
Speaking during a live question and answer session on Facebook with Ashfield MP Lee Anderson, the district’s police chief outlined some of the work taking place in the estate.
“Carsic is one of our busier areas and local teams spend a lot of time up there doing a lot of really good work,” said Inspector Mark Dickson, district commander for Ashfield.
“We’ve had some massive results in and around Carsic, but the problem we have around drug dealers is that drug dealing is never going to go away.
“It’s going to move, so we need to be flexible and move with that.
“The current tactic is [targeting] street-level dealing. We did about 70 warrants in three months when I first started, but criminals change their tactics.
“They didn’t want to be caught in a house with it so they moved into vehicles, we then did work to target that and they’re now on foot.
“We are now engaging in that. We’ve re-appropriated a number of covert bikes from other areas and we are doing plain-clothed patrols on bikes, so we can get in and around jitties on the estate.”
Inspector Dickson has encouraged residents to get in contact with the force if they know where drug dealing is taking place - or if they have video evidence to support officers.
He added: “We’ve had some really good results, and we’re also doing additional work in the area, building a really strong intelligence picture. If residents have got any CCTV, videos, stills of any drug dealing activity, or know where it’s taking place, they should email it into us. Give us an example and we will work with it.
“We’re working with the council as well, and we’re considering cutting off some of the jitties.”
Residents on Carsic recently spoke out about the drug dealing problem, citing how elderly people have been intimidated by drug dealers in the jitty between Paling Crescent and Percival Crescent.
Lee Anderson, Ashfield’s Conservative MP, believes sorting the jitty issue should be a priority in order for pensioners “to feel safe”.
“The jitties directly access the old-aged pensioners’ homes in Carsic,” he said. “What I would like to see is a form of ‘radar key’ for the pensioners, so they can access the jitties safely and securely.
“Quite frankly, at the moment they are not safe and they are not secure, and I will be pushing for the pensioners to be put first to ensure they feel safe.”