The public have been asked to be the police’s “eyes and ears” to help them crack down on dangerous balaclava-clad moped riders.
Southwell residents have faced ongoing anti-social behaviour in recent months — with reports of mopeds and motorbikes being ridden illegally and dangerously, an assault, drugs being smoked in public and other concerning incidents.
It is believed to be one particular group of teenagers, who are often clad in balaclavas when riding their motorbikes, creating the trouble.
Residents described them as riding “as recklessly as possible and as loudly as possible”, “flying” through the Minster grounds on mopeds and using Southwell Trail to commute between villages.
The varying moped and motorbikes are also believed to be moved between locations for storage, making it harder for them to be tracked down.
Residents also described a recent escalation over the weekend, which caused many people a significant amount of concern and was described as “really scary” to see, when on Saturday (June 1) evening two boys were alleged to have dragged an unconscious girl through the centre of the town, before a large group of boys had an “altercation” on the market square with a man who approached them to ask them to calm down.
They also raised issues of drugs being smoked on the market square.
The concerns were aired at a meeting of Southwell’s Safer Neighbourhood Group yesterday (June 6), which was attended by the area’s beat manager PC Deborah Bakin and PCSO Richard Dunn, alongside councillors, a tenancy officer from Newark and Sherwood District Council, and members of the speedwatch group.
Despite the challenges faced due to the riders concealing their identity and not wearing helmets — meaning they cannot be identified in a way which would hold up in court despite being known to officers, and cannot be chased by police — PC Bakin assured residents work was being done to clamp down on the activity and the offenders. She did say not all the work they are doing can be shared publicly as it would risk jeopardising the police investigation.
It was confirmed that doors have been knocked on and garages searched at known addresses.
However, she explained, it is important residents report any information or incidents promptly “whether you think its trivial or major” to ensure police can respond as quickly as possible and build up evidence.
She said: “The community need to be our eyes and ears and let us know where the bikes are.
“We are doing stuff and the police are interested.”
She also confirmed that the incidents reported on Saturday night were under investigation by the officer who was on duty at that time.
Addressing concerns about how the police are dealing with the situation and Nottinghamshire Police’s policy to not chase riders without helmets, she explained that when relaying the situation to command officers are ordered to ‘abort’ if the rider has no helmet — and every police vehicle is fitted with a dash cam to ensure this is followed.
PC Bakin said: “If they come off and die or have a major incident we will be in trouble. If you don’t abort you will lose your job.
“We’ll do what we can but we will not risk people’s lives or our jobs to catch them right then, they will come back again.”
PC Bakin also explained that a night of action had been held recently, with response officers and officers from the Ollerton beat team joining in to spend three hours to “hit Southwell big style”, although unfortunately despite ensuring there would be no tip-offs, it was a quiet night.
She added that the anti-social behaviour had been flagged within the force so when different officers were on shift they are aware of the problems and would come to patrol through Southwell and check up on problem areas and addresses whenever possible.
Additionally, having a police contact point located within the town — one of only two in the district — means that response officers and members of other teams stop in when passing through, increasing the presence of police in the town.
This sentiment of reporting was echoed by the meeting’s convenor and chairman of the group, Peter Harris, who explained that it was important that the community came together and reported incidents to ensure there were figures to back up the need for increased policing in the area.
Residents were also encouraged to report any incidents which could amount to a breach in tenancy relating to council properties to the council’s housing team to ensure a official record of incidents could be kept to be acted upon.
If the crime is in progress it should be reported over the phone to 999, or to 101 if it is not an emergency. If PC Bakin or PCSO Dunn are on shift it can be reported directly to them via their mobile numbers, 07970 181916 and 07595 074292 respectively, so they can respond quickly. If they do not pick up, it should instead be relayed to 101 to be passed to the on-duty officers.
Reports can be made anonymously, and reassurance was offered that officers will not visit the houses of people who reported but instead follow up in other ways so people who report aren’t identified or targeted, as some feared.
Reports to the district council’s housing team can also be kept anonymous if preferred.
PCSO Dunn added: “I’ve been in Southwell for 15 years and this is probably the worst six months we’ve had.”
It was acknowledged that while the mopeds were causing significant issues in Southwell, it is also an offence occurring all across the district and causing issues in places including Newark and Bilsthorpe.
