A pledge to reduce crime in Nottingham by 25-per-cent in four years has been achieved - in just two-and-a-half years. In March 2007 Nottinghamshire Police, Nottingham City Council and the Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership agreed the Council’s Labour Party manifesto pledge to reduce crime by a quarter by March 31, 2011.

Since then the number of offences committed in Nottingham has dropped from 59,663 a year to 44,098 a year – which equates to 15,565 fewer victims every year or a 26.1 per cent drop.

In addition, all but one of the crime areas has also seen a reduction – most notably vehicle crime offences are down 41 per cent and burglary offences are down 34 per cent.

The positive figures are the result of effective working between the Police, the City Council and the Nottingham CDP, alongside increased co-operation and intelligence provided by the public.

Chief Superintendent Shaun Beebe said: "Reducing crime by 25 per cent reduction in two-and-a-half years demonstrates what can be achieved in Nottingham when the Police work closely with key partners and local people to tackle crime and disorder."

"This fall in crime is the result of good Police operations targeting prolific criminals, excellent partnership work in tackling anti-social behaviour, increased crime prevention, particularly among students and the introduction of Neighbourhood Policing Teams to every community in Nottingham."

"However, we are not complacent and remain determined to drive down crime and the levels of anti-social behaviour in the City, which in turn will continue to improves the lives of the people who live and work here."

"I would encourage the public to continue to support the Police and our law enforcement and crime prevention partners, because it is only with your help we can truly succeed."

Nottingham City Council Leader Coun Jon Collins said: "This is good news for the city and for city residents. There has been a lot of investment and reorganisation in the Police and City Council and their Community Protection and Neighbourhood teams to enable them to work much more closely together at a local street level and we can now see that investment and those changes paying off. There has been an enormous amount of extremely hard work among all the partner agencies to reduce crime in Nottingham, and to see these latest figures that meet city targets in half the target time is a real achievement."

"Much of this success is down to Nottingham residents who make their contribution to keeping the city safe and crime free by reporting suspicious or bad behaviour on the anti-social behaviour hotline, joining in the work of the Neighbourhood Management teams and local beat police teams and getting involved in their communities to help bring about improvements in their area. By taking advantage of free crime-prevention initiatives like Smartwatering and having locks fitted on their doors and windows, residents, including our student population, are all doing their bit to keep their communities safer. "We set ourselves an ambitious target in Nottingham and we can be very proud of our achievements. If we can keep up this level of good work, we will see further falls in crime in the future."

Alan Given, Chief Executive Nottingham Crime and Drugs Partnership said: "This unprecedented achievement is testimony to the efforts of all those in the city who work to reduce crime, disorder and the misuse of drugs and to the communities of Nottingham who have embraced and continue to engage with the numerous crime prevention campaigns and activities that have either taken place or are currently active in the city. "

"The partnership working and leadership that has been developed over recent years has been pivotal in successfully tackling the challenges that those entrusted to reduce crime and drug misuse face on a daily basis. "

"Local people are very clear about the issues that concern them the most, many of those issues are deep rooted and can only be addressed by the responsible authorities combining their efforts to create a response the impact of which is far reaching and sustainable. "

"Today the city can celebrate achieving its target to reduce crime a full 18 months ahead of schedule, the focus now will be on the significant challenges that lie ahead to further reduce crime and the misuse of drugs and to break the intergenerational cycle of deprivation and worklessness."

Chair of Nottinghamshire Local Criminal Justice Board and Chief Officer of Nottinghamshire Probation Area Jane Geraghty said: ‘I welcome these figures, which are testament to how much can be achieved through agencies pooling knowledge and expertise and working together to tackle problems concerning local people. "Nottinghamshire Probation staff carry out extremely valuable work to protect the public through the effective management of offenders, reducing re-offending and supporting victims. They play a vital role in helping to cut crime and turning very difficult individuals’ lives around."

"A number of innovative initiatives undertaken by Nottinghamshire Probation have helped drive up offender compliance with Community Orders - such as the employment of Outreach Mentors, and the provision of additional support for offenders from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds in engaging with the Criminal Justice System. I feel positive that we will continue to work in partnership to build on this very impressive achievement."

Head of the Arson Task Force for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, Station Manager Craig Dooley said: "We are delighted to see a reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour across Nottinghamshire. As a result, deliberate fires have also been reduced, by almost as much as 50% when you compare last years figures to those from 2004. It's normally a very small percentage of people who set fires or are the cause of anti-social behaviour and thanks to strengthened partnership working with the police and other agencies, we are making more convictions which means arsonists are being taken out of the system. This is good news for Nottinghamshire and for all partners who are working towards creating safer communities."