A project developed by Mansfield Partnership Against Crime to help keep the town a safe place to enjoy an evening out has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award. The Nights of Action project has been selected as a finalist in the Best Community & Neighbourhood Initiative category of the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) awards.
The annual awards celebrate the best-performing organisations in the country – and they will be presented at a gala celebration in Swansea in September.
Mansfield District Council submitted the 2,000-word entry on behalf of MPAC to the awards in April, describing the project and what it has achieved in the town so far.
Summarising the work, which delivers high profile multi-agency nights where organisations work together to address night time economy-related crime and disorder and, on each occasion, a very particular aspect of these, the entry said: “Themes covered have included domestic abuse, alcohol-related violence, anti-social driving, drink-driving and theft from person, particularly mobile phone, purse and wallet.
“Agency staff make a point of being seen together and taking appropriate action on the nights, and a range of different methods is used to deliver information around the theme itself.
“As a result of pro-active work, drug arrests on the nights are showing an average four-fold increase and above average numbers of fixed penalty notices for urinating have been issued. These increases are seen as a positive; publicity about them drives home the message that Mansfield will not tolerate such behaviour.”
Alongside common channels of communication such as posters and beer mats, films for use on in- pub and club screens, mobile big screen presentations and on-street actors have all been created and used.
The impact of the project goes far beyond the nights themselves; a film of the road traffic exercise staged for one has been uploaded onto YouTube and has received hundreds of views; it is also used by Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue for education purposes.
MPAC members involved in the Nights of Action project include Nottinghamshire Police, Mansfield BID, Mansfield Association of Licensed Venues (MALV) and Mansfield District Council.
Temporary Chief Inspector Neil Williams said: “This is fantastic achievement for all of the organisations that work hard to keep Mansfield revelers safe on a night out. It builds on our Purple Flag recognition last Autumn and is further evidence that we will not accept antisocial or drunken behavior in our town. We’ve worked hard to ensure our nights of action are innovative and attention grabbing and always underpinned by the serious safety messages.”
