Higham Ferrers

Previous priorities for October 2025 to March 2026:
• Drug dealing and drug misuse
• Road safety and road traffic offences
• Vehicle crime

Drug dealing and drug misuse
• Operation Daisy was completed in pubs within East Northants, supported by NNC licencing and Rushen Town Council. Six people were stop searched and three positive results for cocaine.
• A further six people have been stop and searched, with three positive results for which investigations are ongoing.
• Cannabis factory in Rushden with over 300 plants. Investigation ongoing.
• Cannabis factory in Higham Ferrers, with 100 plants approximately. Investigation ongoing.
• Three other drug enforcement warrants were conducted with investigations ongoing.
• 20 intelligence logs have been submitted in relation to this local priority.

Road safety and road traffic offences
• Officers have carried out speed enforcement in four areas, with 11 people have been given a ticket for driving offences, such as no insurance or speeding.
• One person has been charged for driving over the legal limit of alcohol; one vehicle has been recovered for having no tax.
• One person has been issued a section 59 warning, which is issued for using a vehicle in such a way as to cause alarm, distress, or annoyance.
• Road Safety Week patrols were held in November at various primary schools promoting safe parking; NPT officers and National Highways staff also gave safety talks at five schools – pupils were given a goody bag of safety items and the ‘seatbelt bridge’ was used to check if pupils were tall enough to not need a safety seat! These schools were focused on as they were the schools most affected by the A14 roadworks and subsequent diversion routes.

Vehicle crime
• Officers have visited those who have been victims of vehicle crime (including theft from a vehicle, vehicle interference and theft of a vehicle) to provide crime prevention advice and discuss any issues.
• Officers held a crime prevention surgery at Rushden Lakes on 22 December.

Vehicle crime

• There have been 156 reported thefts from motor vehicles, 99 reported thefts of motor vehicles, and 88 reported vehicle interferences in the area covered by the East Northants Neighbourhood Team between October and March. All victims of crime have received a reassurance visit from neighbourhood officers.
• Officers have carried out a number of crime prevention surgeries across the area, specifically focused on protecting vehicles.
• Operation Pyjama has been launched in conjunction with Bedfordshire Police in response to motorbike thefts.
• An environmental visual audit has taken place in Rushden town centre in conjunction with North Northamptonshire Council and Rushden Town Council, with the aim of making the area less attractive to criminal activity.
• In December, officers seized a Surron motorcycle in Rushden and also recovered a large quantity of drugs.
• Officers have seized 14 privately owned e-scooters.
• Three people have been issued with community protection notice warnings in relation to the use of motorcycles in a nuisance or illegal manner.

Drug dealing and drug misuse

• Operation Daisy was conducted across pubs within the East Northants Neighbourhood Team area, supported by North Northamptonshire Council licensing and Rushden Town Council. Officers have used stop and search powers on 6 occasions, resulting in three positive outcomes for drug offences.
• Separately from this operation, officers have used stop and search powers on 56 occasions across the area covered by the East Northants Neighbourhood Team, resulting in 42 positive outcomes for drug offences.
• Three cannabis factories were discovered across Rushden and Higham Ferrers, containing over 600 plants in total. Investigations remain ongoing in some cases, while others have been concluded. One suspect has been charged.
• The team has executed five warrants relating to drug offences across the area and investigations into these are ongoing. These have all been related to cannabis factories or drug supply.

Road safety and road traffic offences

• Officers have carried out three proactive days of action targeting illegal motorcycle use, privately owned e-scooters, and wider driving offences. Proactive patrols and enforcement activity also included speed enforcement across six locations including Thrapston, Higham Ferrers, Oundle and Rushden.
• Enforcement activity has resulted in two people being charged with driving over the legal alcohol limit and one person has been issued a Section 59 warning. One person was also reported for driving without due care and attention, and for having an insecure load.
• In total, six people have been reported for driving without insurance, five for using a mobile phone while driving, two for contravening a red light, one for a non-confirming numberplate, and one for contravening a one-way system.
• Four vehicles were recovered for having no tax, and two prohibition notices (PG9’s) were issued, preventing vehicles or trailers from being used on public roads.
• The team has focused on tackling e-scooter misuse, resulting in 14 seizures of private e-scooters and several VOI account suspensions due to improper use.
• Road safety week patrols were conducted at primary schools across the area covered by the East Northants Neighbourhood Team in November, promoting safe parking. Officers delivered five safety talks alongside National Highways to schools most impacted by the A14 roadworks and associated diversion routes.

The new priorities for this period (April 2026 to September 2026) are:
• Drug Dealing/Misuse
• Road Safety and Road Traffic Offences
• ASB Nuisance Motorcycles

Our priorities are set for a six month period and reviewed every three months to ensure we continue to deal with what matters most to local people, taking account of feedback shared in our local priorities survey and local crime data.
To have your say on what you would like your neighbourhood officers to focus on, and to get updates from them about crime and policing activity in your area, please visit Northamptonshire Talking https://www.northamptonshiretalking.co.uk/ or click on the link at the top of the page.