Gun and knife crime has been reduced by more than 50% in Nottingham according to figures obtained by The Nottingham Post.
Incidents where armed police responded to threats involving a firearm decreased by 57% in 2014 compared to 2011, as revealed by a Freedom of Information request.
Nottinghamshire Police had to deploy armed officers to incidents involving a gun on 235 occasions in 2011 compared with 101 incidents in 2014.
During the first half of 2015, armed officers have been called out to threats including a firearm 23 times.
Incidents of threats involving a short-edged weapon have also dropped from 203 in 2011 to 80 in 2014.
“Nottingham’s reputation as ‘Shottingham’ was always worrying”
Amy Wilcockson, a first year English student and Nottinghamshire resident, told Impact: “Nottingham’s reputation as ‘Shottingham’ was always worrying. It is obviously immensely reassuring to know that the number of violent crimes has been halved”.
Nottinghamshire Police and Nottingham City Council are said to have attributed the improvement to educating young people in the most deprived areas about the danger of weapons, alongside more frequent raids to seize guns.
Superintendent Steve Cooper told the Nottingham Post that bringing in firearms off the streets of Nottingham and giving longer sentences for gun-related crimes were among the measures being taken to reduce crime rates.
Looking to the future, he also added: “We refuse to be complacent on a matter which is still a serious one. After all, one firearm incident is too many.
“The reduction is a pleasing one but we must continue to work hard”.
“Hearing these figures makes me feel much safer about living in Lenton next year”
In the past, shootings have taken place in areas where University of Nottingham students choose to live. In 2006, PC Rachael Bown was shot and wounded whilst investigating a burglary in Lenton.
First year English student Serena Green told Impact: “Hearing these figures makes me feel much safer about living in Lenton next year, but there is still work to be done”.
Tamsin Parnell
Image: Geoffrey Fairchild via flickr
