Home Office: Finalists announced in 2010 Tilley Awards

Projects which have eliminated prostitution on a residential estate, slashed youth violence, reduced distraction burglary and saved thousands of pounds by cutting theft have been named as finalists in the 2010 Tilley Awards.

Among the finalists was Operation Guardian in Woking which was visited today by Minister for Crime Prevention James Brokenshire. It was set up to tackle the supply of class A drugs after increasing levels of concern among residents about drugs users and dealers in the area. Police initiated the operation with raids, test purchases and stop and searches.

Other finalists came from Lancashire, Northampton, Norfolk, Peckham, Warwickshire, Doncaster, Stockton, Hamilton, Cardiff and Caerau, South Wales.

Minister for Crime Prevention James Brokenshire said:
"Empowering communities to find local solutions to local problems is a key foundation of the Big Society we want to build. These awards recognise where it is already happening and we can all learn lessons from that.

"They show that when police, councils, charities and the public work together they can achieve real results. I want to congratulate all the finalists on their achievements."

The Tilley Awards were set up in 1999 to recognise crime fighting projects where police, community safety groups and the public work in partnership using innovative and strategic methods to tackle problems identified by their local communities.

More than 110 projects entered this year’s awards. An overall winner will be named later this year.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Tilley Award is named after Professor Nick Tilley, who has carried out considerable work in the UK, often commissioned by the Home Office, to develop problem-oriented policing. The awards are funded by the Home Office to encourage and spread best practice in crime fighting approaches across England and Wales.

2. The full list of regional winners is below. For more information see Annex A.

a. East — Wells Harbour Outboard Engine Theft Project

b. East Midlands — Operation Uncanny

c. London — Talking the Hardest: Taking on Peckham’s Gang Culture

d. North East — Repeat Caller Mrs H

e. North West — Hyndburn Snooker Youth Club

f. South East — Operation Guardian

g. Wales — Duffyn Road Flats: Tackling ASB

h. West Midlands — Distraction Burglary in Warwickshire

i. Yorkshire and the Humber — Operation Alamein

j. Rest of the UK – Hamilton Safer Streets Initiative

k. Stand alone category winner for Embedding Partnership Working - Safer Capital Cardiff

3. For more information ring the Home Office Press Office on 020 7035 3535

ANNEX A - SUMMARIES OF NATIONAL FINALISTS

NORTH WEST – HYNDBURN SNOOKER YOUTH CLUB
The Hyndburn Snooker Youth Club was set up in September 2008 after residents in the Church ward of Hyndburn, Lancashire raised concerns about alcohol-related antisocial behaviour and criminal damage. Working with the community, authorities set up a free snooker club which was run by paid staff and volunteers from the area.

After its establishment antisocial behaviour and criminal damage fell by 13 per cent and 27 per cent respectively in Church ward in 2009 compared with 2008. Police also reported a 30 per cent fall in the number of young people arrested in the area who were considered to be under the influence of drink or drugs during 2008/2009 compared with the previous 12 months.

EAST MIDLANDS – OPERATION UNCANNY
Setting up a “toleration area” where sex workers were not arrested for solicitation was one of a raft of innovative measures established to tackle prostitution in the Spring Boroughs and Semilong residential areas of Northampton as part of Operation Uncanny. The Priority Action Zone (PAZ) was part of a three-pronged approach which saw the number of sex workers working in those areas fall from around 200 to 0.

Sex workers in the PAZ were met by workers from the Sex Workers Around Northampton (SWAN) partnership who gave advice and support on health, housing, drug addiction and education to help the women exit prostitution. Police monitored the area to identify and arrest customers. Authorities worked with the public to ensure they understood why the zone was set up. The project also led to 25 properties in Spring Boroughs and Semilong that were used as brothels and crack houses being closed down.

EAST OF ENGLAND – WELLS HARBOUR OUTBOARD ENGINE THEFT PROJECT
A "design out crime" approach saw the Wells Harbour Outboard Engine Theft Project in Norfolk named as a national finalist. Following a spate of boat engine thefts in the area the project designed a flexible plastic engine cover that could be locked to the boat and once in place would prevent the engine being started. If forcibly removed it would damage the engine.

Before the project was set up around £53,000 worth of engines were stolen from 2006 to 2008. In the 12 months leading up to September 2009 the total value of stolen engines fell to £6,252 which related to just one incident where six engines were stolen.

LONDON – TALKING THE HARDEST: TAKING ON PECKHAM’S GANG CULTURE
Talking the Hardest: Taking on Peckham’s Gang Culture was a multi-faceted project that tackled gang-related antisocial behaviour following a rise in incidents around Peckham Town Centre. The project involved the police, council and local schools to gather evidence against a small group of individuals identified as the most influential and active gang members in the area.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders were obtained the group and rigidly enforced with any breaches prosecuted. Other gang members were targeted with enforcement where appropriate and support such as parenting orders for those on the fringes of the gang culture to prevent them getting involved. Other measures included offering temporary accommodation to witnesses to prevent intimidation and signposting young people to out-of-school activities. The project resulted in a drop in recorded crime in the target area and saw confidence among business owners and young people rise.

SOUTH EAST – OPERATION GUARDIAN
Operation Guardian in Woking, which was set up to tackle the supply of class A drugs after increasing levels of concern among residents about drugs users and dealers in the area. Police initiated the operation with raids, test purchases and stop and searches. Courts and prisons were then prepared for the influx of offenders, drug treatment teams alerted to ensure displaced drug users had access to treatment services and housing authorities were contacted so they could assist with applying for warrants and enforce the removal of homes from those involved.

In 2008/2009 the percentage of residents who said they were concerned about drugs in their communities peaked at 20.6 per cent. Following the operation latest figures show that that number has fallen to 11.6 per cent.

WEST MIDLANDS – DISTRACTION BURGLARY IN WARWICKSHIRE
The distraction burglary project in Warwickshire was formed after a rise in incidents to a total of 143 in 2007. A partnership involving home helps, district nurses, pension advisors, community groups, hospital, local authority and the housing corporation was established to raise awareness among over 65s, the most affected group.

Personal safety packs were distributed to more than 12,000 people over the course of several months. Latest figures for 2009 show a drop in recorded distraction burglary offences to 82 and preliminary figures for 2010 indicate that the trend will continue.

WALES – DUFFRYN ROAD FLATS AND BLAENCAERAU BALL PARK: TACKLING ASB
A project in Caerau, South Wales following a rise in antisocial behaviour around a particular block of flats. The project involved police and local authorities as well as several voluntary agencies in a major regeneration of the area. Diversionary activities were provided for local youths by cleaning up a local ball park and setting up organised activities.

Following the regeneration work both ASB and crime fell. In 2007/8 antisocial behaviour peaked at 25 incidents a month in 2009/10 the peak was 15 while recorded crime peaks dropped from 10 to 6 in the same period. Residents’ concerns over antisocial behaviour also fell.

YORKSHIRE AND HUMBER – OPERATION ALAMEIN
Operation Alamein was established following concerns over a rise in antisocial behaviour in Edlington and Warmsworth in Doncaster. Using the Home Office’s effective practice database the project identified a number of methods that could be tailored to the local area to tackle the problem.

Methods included establishing a truancy watch, dispersal orders and forcing offenders to clean up graffiti. The agencies working on the project also set up an intranet site to pool intelligence allowing them to identify prolific offenders so they could target resources. Nuisance incidents involving young people fell from 214 in April 2008 to December 2008 to 166 in April 2009 to December 2009.

NORTH EAST – PERSISTENT CALLER MRS H
A project in Stockton, Cleveland targeted a persistent caller who tied up police, ambulance, hospital and GP services with hundreds of calls over several years. After realising the individual was taking advantage of a lack of information sharing between the agencies, an information sharing protocol was agreed. The nuisance caller was served with an ASBO after an acceptable behaviour contract was not adhered to.

After the ASBO was imposed calls to police fell from 461 during January 2004 to August 2008 to two during October 2008 to February 2009. Visits to the local A&E fell from 92 during January 2007 to December 2009 to four in October 200

REST OF UK – HAMILTON SAFER STREETS INITIATIVE
Hamilton Safer Streets Initiative in Scotland, was developed in response to alcohol related violence and disorder during the Christmas period in the town centre. After establishing partnerships with local businesses authorities introduced measures such as high profile policing, taxi marshals and better lighting to deter criminal behaviour.

The initiative was introduced in December 2006 and has seen recorded crime incidents fall by 86 per cent from 147 in 2005 to 20 in 2009. This includes serious and simple assaults which fell by 83 per cent and 87 per cent respectively over the same period.

STAND ALONE CATEGORY
The Safer Capital Cardiff (SCC) partnership is named as winner in a new category where entrants had to show they have integrated partnership and problem solving approaches into their work. SCC was nominated for its Transforming Neighbourhoods model which saw six multi-agency teams set up to cover the same areas as the town’s Safer Neighbourhood Police teams.

In addition to regular meetings with police and community safety groups the teams also have their own dedicated budget allowing them to respond quickly to any problems with antisocial behaviour or low level crime in their areas.

Contacts

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