Sussex Police have won a Home Office award for their crime fighting operation.
The Tilley Awards promotes best practice in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour by recognising initiatives that reduce crime over the long term, not just by making arrests, but by working with local agencies to tackle the root causes of the problems. Lancashire Constabulary was this year’s runner-up for their ‘Return of the Happy Shopper’ and ‘Mountains into Molehills’ initiatives.
What they say
The Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, said: “Tackling the underlying causes of crime is vital to drive crime down, and this year’s Tilley Award winner, Sussex Police,and the runners-up, Lancashire Constabulary, are examples of some of the best problem-oriented policing in this country. So much has been achieved by these projects. Their innovative approaches to tackling persistent problems at a local level have given their communities a sense of safety and delivered real change on the ground. I would like to particularly congratulate Sussex Police for their success in tackling the street drinking and begging which were contributing to the increase in crime and the fear of crime, and fuelling anti-social behaviour. By using a problem-solving approach they have achieved excellent results – a 90 per cent reduction in beggars and a significant reduction in street drinking hotspots, making their community a safer place to live.
“Congratulations also to Lancashire Constabulary. Their innovative work on managing missing person’s cases led to a 27 per cent reduction in ‘young runaway’ cases. The effect of this reduction is being seen in significant police efficiency savings – expected to be up to £1m this year – as well as cuts in crime and anti-social behaviour.
“Lancashire is also to be congratulated for their work in Prestonto bring back the local shop – a lifeline for many residents – as the heart of the community. These excellent initiatives show that by working together we can make our communities safer.”
The presentation took place at the Problem Orientated Policing Conference in Birmingham. The winner and runners-up received a glass trophy and financial support to present their projects to the International Problem Oriented Policing Conference in America later this year.
Operation Dodger
This project began as a result of the police and the Community Safety Team of the Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) receiving a large number of complaints regarding street drinking and begging. Residents, traders and tourists had also reported an increase in their fear of crime. The National Intelligence Model (NIM) process identified significant crime trends within these same hotspot areas.
As an initial response Operation Dodger was created in June 2003. The operation identified and defined the cause of the problems. The BHCC and Crime Reduction Initiatives (who provide social care support to individuals), formed a partnership with the Police in order to tackle and address prolific offenders’ behaviour. Many of the offenders had drug or alcohol addictions or had suffered mental health issues.
Members of the public kept street diaries to evidence the anti-social behaviour (ASB) that street drinkers engaged in. Police provided reports on the number of street crimes that had been committed where alcohol was considered a contributing factor. The CDRP used measures in the Criminal Justice and Police Act to bring in a city-wide sanction on street drinking – the first in Englandor Walesto be granted.
Steps were also taken to treat the addiction of the individual concerned. This required the agencies to work to a problem solving approach. A regular multi-agency Street Community Anti-Social Behaviour Case Conference was convened to decide upon action plans for each individual to address their behaviour. This conference brought together statutory, private, charitable and voluntary organisations.
Over the next 15 months this work reduced beggars from 33 to three – a 90 per cent reduction. Street drinking hotspots decreased from 18 to 5 and the numbers of people engaged in street drinking reduced from 158 to 70. Communities that had experienced criminal acts and ASB are now free to enjoy their public spaces.
Runner up
This initiative reduced ‘young-runaway’ cases by 32.5 per cent in its first year and is on target to reduce by a further 18 per cent in year two. In the first quarter of 2005 the project was rolled out, leading to a force-wide reduction in ‘young-runaway’ cases of 27 per cent. Each case involved the police, on average, in 20 separate tasks and cost £1000. The police-led multi-agency response involved the collection and sharing of data about persistent young-runaways and the care homes they came from leading to groundbreaking multi-agency tasking, coordination and performance management. When any individual is reported missing for the third time a POP based intervention is commenced with partners. A ‘What Works’ toolkit has been developed which has helped spread good practice.
The Tilley award is named after Prof Nick Tilley, of Nottingham Trent University, who has carried out work in the UK, often commissioned by the Home Office, to develop problem-oriented policing (POP). The award was set up in 1999 to encourage and recognise excellence in crime reduction using problem oriented-principles. The focus of POP is on analysing and understanding problems and developing tailored responses to reducing them. The award is open to all UK police forces.
