Safer London Problem Orientated Partnerships Awards

The Problem Orientated Partnerships (POP) Awards recognise the achievements of partnership projects between the police, local communities and other partners, that are responsive to local needs, are people focused and address the causes of crime, not just the consequences, to reduce crime and disorder. The Metropolitan Police Authority, the Metropolitan Police Service and Safer London Foundation sponsor the awards.

POP Awards 2010

What are the Safer London POP Awards?

There are three separate awards that you can enter:

1. Safer Communities POP Award
   Entries can focus on any aspect of police or partnership work including, for example, projects undertaken to reduce specific crime and disorder problems. Past examples have included business crime, volunteer-led crime reduction initiatives, burglary reduction, community cohesion projects etc.
2. Safer Travel POP Award
   Entries can focus on any aspect of police or partnership work that has led to significant reductions in crime, disorder or the fear of crime among people using the public transport network. It can also be awarded to innovative new projects that foster safety in other forms of transport such as safer bike routes to schools etc.
3. Safer Night Time POP Award
   Entries can focus on any aspect of police or partnership work that has led to significant reductions in crime, disorder or the fear of crime during the evening and night time, particularly around licensed premises; restaurants, clubs, pubs, bars etc.

What is the prize?

The highest scoring entry for each award will win a monetary reward of £2500 to help enable further improvements to their borough and local neighbourhood. An overall winner - the Safer London POP Award 2010 - is then chosen from the three award winners and will receive an additional £7500 (total first prize £10k). The Awards will be presented at the Safer London POP Conference on 22nd February 2010 in London.

Who can enter?

The awards are open to anyone who has been involved in partnership work leading to a reduction in crime, disorder or fear of crime. One of the partners must be the Metropolitan Police and, in the case of the Safer Travel POP Award, Transport for London. Previous winners include tackling business crime, volunteer-led crime reduction initiative, safer neighbourhoods initiative, community engagement etc.

The 2010 awards will be presented at the Safer London Problem Orientated Partnerships Conference on 22 February 2010.

Previous entries

Below are brief synopses of previous entries:

Gascoigne Estate Burglaries

Barking and Dagenham
First place winner Safer London Problem solving Awards 2008

The Gascoigne Estate was having particular problems with burglary. Some residents had been burgled as many as five times in the previous 12 months - particularly ground floor flats.

It was discovered that the windows of these flats had numerous weaknesses relating to the locking. Due to lack of community engagement and fear, the residents were unwilling to come forward against the offenders, who in turn took advantage of this situation.

In order to reduce burglary within the estate, make the estate a safer and cleaner place to live, and to build community engagement, various measures were enacted, including;

• High visibility policing.
• Increasing community involvement in community safety and young people schemes
• Crime prevention work including the installation of new window locks.
• Cleaning teams assigned to remove graffiti and domestic/bulk refuse.

As a result there was a 75% reduction in residential burglary in the three months February to April 2007 compared to the previous three month period (November 2006 to January 2007). This significant trend of burglary reduction has continued. Residents are more forthcoming in reporting crimes, and there is a positive turnaround in residents' perception and understanding of community engagement.

Anti-Social Behaviour by Groups of Youths on the Cleveland Estate Bethnal Green

Tower Hamlets
2nd place winner Safer London Problem Solving Awards 2008

In March 2005 the Bethnal Green South Safer Neighbourhoods team (SNT) began a problem solving process to address the twin aims of reducing anti-social behaviour and fear of crime among residents on the Cleveland estate in east London. As the SNT worked with partners and interacted with the young people on the estate it became apparent that there were several underlying community cohesion issues that needed to be addressed. Levels of mistrust between young people and the elderly on the estate, and between young people and the police, were high.

In response the SNT and their partners held a 'World Café' event, which brought the residents together and enabled them to bring issues of concern into the open. To demonstrate their commitment to improving their relationships with young people on the estate, the SNT suspended work on Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC) applications.

In January 2006 the police and young people took part in mediation sessions to progress the initiative. A number of these young people began training in community development and some went on to become peer youth workers. The partnership commissioned a community film project to record and publicise the commitment of those living and working on the estate to work together to improve their environment.

This innovative approach to tackling the causes of anti-social behaviour and improving community cohesion has been enormously successful. Between January 2005 and March 2007, recorded crime on the estate fell 49%. The proportion of residents who considered youth-related anti-social behaviour to be a serious problem fell from 100% in August 2005 to 36% in March 2006, and some individuals previously identified as instigators of anti-social behaviour on the estate have become peer youth workers.

'Parklife' - Combating Disorder through Partnership in Lower Morden

Merton
3rd place winner Safer London Problem solving Awards 2008

Analysis of Merton's 2005 Annual Residents' Survey identified the Lower Morden ward as having the highest fear of crime in the borough. A consultation exercise to find the cause pointed the finger squarely at King George's Playing Field, a park situated in the centre of the ward, whose broken down fence allowed access to the park via open, privately-owned alleyways. There was increasing youth disorder in the park and in the streets around it, as it had become a focus for the gathering of local youths to drink and smoke. The quiet residential streets in the vicinity became awash with graffiti and a park ranger living in a tied house in the park was subject to frightening victimisation.

In response, funding was acquired to replace the fence for the 1.5km perimeter of the park with a 5m high ultra-modern version. Resident Action Groups were formed around existing Neighbourhood Watches and alley gates installed. These resident groups were given incident diaries in which to record anti-social behaviour, as there was an issue with under-reporting. Intelligence gathered from these diaries led to the identification of a cannabis factory next to the park, which was selling drugs to the young people in the park. This was raided and an arrest was made.

Diversion and engagement of the youths in the park took place, led by the Safer Neighbourhoods police team but with assistance from youth outreach workers, and 'Reclaim the Park' events took place, including several youth football tournaments organised by the local police team.

Fear of crime in the ward dropped: in 2005 75% expressed concern about crime, compared to 58% in 2007; calls to police in the park or its perimeter dropped by 34%; and graffiti callouts to the park dropped by 39%.

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