Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry has welcomed new figures showing a steep increase in the number of Mansfield residents signing up to a police alert system.

Nottinghamshire Alert is part of the Neighbourhood Alert network of sites and information providers. It is a secure, web-based system that allows authorised administrators, including Nottinghamshire Police, Neighbourhood Watch, Action Fraud, Crimestoppers and Nottinghamshire County Council, to share information quickly and effectively.

Registered users can choose what information they receive, how often, who from and in a format that they choose by creating and managing their account on the website: https://www.nottinghamshirealert.co.uk/

As part of the Home Office-funded Safer Streets project, police officers and community safety leads in Mansfield set themselves an ambitious target to increase registrations by 100 before the end of March 2022.

With three months to go, registrations have already surpassed the initial goal with 188 new sign-ups achieved between 1 October and December 31 2021- an increase of 53%.

The project team, which includes the commissioner, Police, Mansfield District Council, Mansfield Community and Voluntary Services (CVS) and the county council, are determined to increase registrations even further and are appealing for residents who have not yet signed up to add their details as soon as possible to help combat crime and make Nottinghamshire safer.

Caroline said: “This uplift in registrations is wonderful news and I am grateful for the hard work of the Safer Streets team in making this happen.

“Not everybody has or uses social media and so Nottinghamshire Alert is a real lifeline for receiving important messages to help protect our residents from harm.

“We want our communities to feel connected to the police and understand more about the wider work they do to keep them safe. Our officers are keen to talk to people in every way possible. If you have not signed up yet, please consider registering and playing your part to keep Mansfield safe.”

At the start of the Safer Streets project, 355 people in Mansfield were registered to Nottinghamshire Alert. That figure had increased to 543 up to the end of December 31 2021.

Coun Marion Bradshaw, portfolio holder for Safer Communities, Housing and Wellbeing, added: “Sharing information about crime is an effective way to combat law breaking so we were pleased that more people in Mansfield are signing up to this alert service as part of the Safer Streets initiative.

“Not everyone is on Facebook or social media – and even if they are, the way these channels release information means users might not see everything we want to share so this service provides a reliable way to be kept in the loop about criminal activity in their area.”

Stephen Cooper, of Mansfield CVS, said: “We are delighted to be part of the Safer Streets project team. Mansfield CVS has strong links with many organisations and groups in the area. We are aware from the feedback that we receive, that effective communication is a vital part of empowering the community. The more people we can help to sign up to the scheme, the more connected our community becomes.”