Give feedback on this pageThe Chairman of the Denbighshire Community Safety Partnership has welcomed news that the organisation has been recognised nationally for efforts to reduce criminal damage in the county.
The Partnership has won a Directors Award and £1,000 to assist with community safety work in the Home Office (Wales) Innovative Practice Awards, announced after a successful submission.
Criminal damage accounts for 25% of all crime in Denbighshire.Thorough reasearch and analysis gave the Partnership confidence of achieving a sustained reduction through a series of initiatives which increased the confidence in the work of the partnership and effectively tackled the fear of crime.
The Denbighshire Community Safety Partnership has seen unprecedented success in reducing the amount of crime over recent years. Denbighshire's target over the past three years has been to reduce ten specific categories of crime by 20% - the actual reduction has been 42%, which equates to nearly 2,700 fewer victims of crime in the county.
Criminal damage has been reduced by 35%, juvenile offending reduced by 36% and alcohol related crimes down by 19%.
The initiatives included:
Alley gates were installed in a hotspot area
Multi-agency visits to licensed premises
Test purchasing - denying young people access to alcohol
Alcohol controlled zones in Rhyl, Prestatyn and Llangollen
Environmental clean up and recording of graffiti
Introduction of graffiti boards and some artistic support, to give young people the change to express themselves artistically without causing damae
Operation GROG (Get rid of graffiti), a Crimestoppers based initiative
Graffiti hotspots were identified and painted with a mural using a local artist and 'local graffiti artists'
Iwan Prys Jones , Chair of the Denbighshire Community Safety Partnership said: "We are delighted to have received national recognition for the multi-agency effort in Denbighshire to tackle criminal damage. The success is down to the strong working relationship between all organisations involved and innovative schemes to reduce crime and the fear of crime".
Superintendent Terry Kellaher of the Central Command team said: “This award is recognition of all the hard work that has been undertaken by the partnership. We are extremely pleased to receive this award.”
The Denbighshire Community Safety Partnership is made up of representatives of Denbighshire County Council, North Wales Police and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service.