18
Jun
2013
By Calvin at 14:01 GMT, 12 years ago
Avon and Somerset Constabulary, who link to this site, have recently held an award ceremony at the Police HQ to recognise the best crime reduction projects across the area.
In first place was the Taunton Halcon Project, set up five years ago to reduce crime and increase reporting on the Halcon estate. First runner-up was the Bristol Tackling Vice project and second runner-up was the Bournville Burglary Initiative from Weston-super-Mare.
Assistant Chief Constable John Long, who introduced the event, said: "These awards show the hard work going on to tackle issues across the force area by police and partner agencies. They highlight, when people have a problem in their lives that is too big for them to deal with, they can turn to the police and to other organisations that work alongside us.
"Life can be pretty miserable for people where a problem is eating into their home, social and work lives, but projects like these can lead to significant changes and make the future look very much brighter.
"We had a number of impressive award submissions again this year which all represent a great deal of effort, teamwork and dedication. Those involved in the three top projects should be especially proud of all that they have achieved."
The Halcon Project
The Halcon Project is now in its fifth year and was set up following feedback from the community that they felt disengaged with the police and other agencies and because of ongoing issues on the Halcon estate.
The Halcon Project team, led by Sergeant Andy Murphy, canvassed the opinions of residents about the problems and what they wanted from local agencies. They created a five-year plan designed to increase partnership working, give the community a voice, raise confidence in reporting to police and reduce youth crime.
Initial work for the project included increased high visibility patrols in the area, extra beat surgeries and helping to set up a boxing gym on the estate. The partners now help support a number of sports and other community activities.
The results so far have been a 28% reduction in recorded crime, a 46% reduction in the number of young people suspected of crime and a 53% reduction in the number of youth victims of crime. A multi-agency team has been set up that meets regularly to discuss any issues on the estate and the appropriate measures needed to address these.
Bristol Tackling Vice Project
The campaign was set up to tackle issues with street prostitution. When the project began in 2003 the police were receiving more than 350 complaints a year and there were around 40 women working on the streets at any one time. Around 99% of these women were addicted to Class A drugs or alcohol.
Police, working with other agencies and charities, took a completely different approach in dealing with the problem, seeing the women much more as victims trapped within the cycle than as criminals.
Vice liaison officer PC Tina Newman said: "Collaboratively we produced contact cards with information about relevant agencies that could provide support, safety advice and information about what to do if they were attacked”.
The campaign also arranged self-defence classes for the vulnerable women and set up a scheme to allow the women to share information about violent and troublesome clients. A media campaign warned kerb crawlers that police would be actively pursuing and prosecuting them and increased signposting to specialist services to help women seek help for alcohol and drug addictions was put in place.
Ten years on has seen a 208% increase in the number of kerb crawlers that have been dealt with by police, a 60% reduction in complaints, and 33% fewer women on the streets. Other forces have visited Bristol to find out more about the work carried out in the city as it is now seen as an example of best practice.
The Bournville Burglary Initiative
The Bournville initiative was created to respond to high levels of burglary on the estate, which in 2011 accounted for 10% of the total burglary across North Somerset.
The project team was led by police and included partners such as Alliance Homes. The team implemented a number of schemes, including presentations in schools around crime prevention, using the police and housing association's eviction powers for problem tenants, and conducting a media campaign to raise awareness of the police and partner activity that was taking place.
The team also helped bring about improvements to the landscaping of the area, such as less fencing, improved lighting and road alteration to reduce the number of commuter rat runs.
Inspector Liz Hughes said: "The results have been really positive so far with a 50 per cent decrease year on year in burglary offences in the worst affected area and people reporting that they feel much safer to go out after dark.”
The projects will now be entered into the national problem solving awards later this year.
Original source from Avon and Somerset Constabulary: http://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/LocalPages/NewsDetails.aspx?nsid=27578&t=4
