Nottinghamshire Police has announced there’s again a different head of neighbourhood policing in Ruddington – the second change at the top in as many years.
Rushcliffe Police‘s latest new man in charge, Inspector Tim Cuthbert (pictured inset above), is vowing to engage with the public – as his team continues its fight against rural crime, antisocial behaviour, car meets and shoplifting. With more than 20 years of policing experience, after previously working as an officer in intelligence and international crime, Inspector Cuthbert says he is looking forward to “a new forward-facing role making communities across this beautiful and vibrant part of the county safer”.
He’s taken over the reins from Inspector Rob Lawton as the Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for Ruddington and other communities within Rushcliffe – including West Bridgford (where he is based), Cotgrave, Bingham, Radcliffe-on-Trent and the large rural areas in-between. After the departure of his predecessor, Inspector Craig Berry in July 2021, one of Inspector Lawton’s first moves was to withdraw the monthly crime figures previously supplied by beat officers to local news sources, including to RUDDINGTON.info and Ruddington Parish Council. (Although these figures are available on the Nottinghamshire Police website they are generally a few months in arrears and lack detail.) Inspector Lawton also faced criticism for failing to reinstate regular Ruddington police beat surgeries, a general lack of engagement with the public or the media, and precious little police visibility around our village.
There have been notable exceptions, such as a Ruddington crime concerns meeting initiated by Ruth Edwards MP, occasional appearances by local officers at Ruddington Village Market and a police campaign targeting speeding motorists through Ruddington.
Incoming Inspector, Tim Cuthbert, says: “I’m honoured to be taking over the role of neighbourhood inspector for Rushcliffe. It is a wonderful place to live with diverse and exciting communities. I’ve already received a warm welcome from local councillors and other partners, and I’m looking forward to building these relationships further. We’re currently in a very good place with local crime rates falling – but I’m not complacent and we are determined to do even better. I am confident we can achieve this. We have more officers than we have had in a long time and my team are working on a number of exciting initiatives – alongside internal and external partners – that are designed to make the local community even safer than it already is.”
He cites his experience as an investigator as a real help towards this goal: “I have worked in proactive roles, response and intelligence and have a determination to keep the most vulnerable people in our society safe. Our crime priorities remain the same. We know the impact antisocial behaviour can have on people – whether that’s because of noise, vandalism, drugs, begging, the use of off-road bikes, car meets and anything that causes harassment or is distressing to members of the public. Tackling this sort of behaviour remains a priority in Rushcliffe and we are continuing to make sure we listen to any community concerns, engage and educate people and where appropriate take action.”
Inspector Cuthbert reveals the make-up of his beat team will be remaining the same for consistency, to allow neighbourhood officers to continue their engagement work within the community. He has three sergeants, 17 police constables, seven PCSOs and two civilian investigators within his team – with PC Stephen Piper and PCSO Sherrylee Sampson staying on as Ruddington’s two beat officers. However, both are actually based in Cotgrave, since our own dedicated Police Station closed back in 2012. A subsequent period working from the Ruddington Parish Council offices, was only short-lived.
In order to deliver on the area’s policing priorities, Inspector Cuthbert says his team will also need help from residents and businesses: “The public know how they want to be policed so I need to know what they want for their neighbourhood, how we can make them feel safe and listened to and how we can deliver that to them. I am keen to hear from residents and businesses about any issues they may have. It is important the public know their neighbourhood policing team is there for them. Please speak to our officers while out on patrol or get in touch via 101 so that one of our team can call you. I promise that all information shared will be reviewed by an officer to see if we can take action and, of course, anything reported will always be treated in the strictest confidence.”
He adds: “My intention going forward is to keep people updated on the proactive police work going on in their communities, to tackle our neighbourhood policing priorities and give residents the confidence to share their concerns to enable us to take the appropriate action to combat crime.”
You can contact the Rushcliffe neighbourhood policing team via the Nottinghamshire Police website or by calling 101.
{Photographs (except Ruddington Police Station) courtesy of Nottinghamshire Police}
