WIREDGOV

The winners of the national Tilley Awards have been announced yesterday at a special ceremony in the Houses of Parliament hosted by the Minister for Crime Prevention, Jeremy Browne.

The awards, now in their fourteenth year, recognise innovative crime fighting projects where local councils, police, community groups and the public successfully work together to deal with local problems.

Gang and youth violence

This year's first prize was awarded to a team from Enfield, London who set out to tackle gang and youth violence in the area. The unique approach saw gang members invited to a ‘Call In’ to meet victims’ families, A&E doctors and former gang members in order to highlight the stark reality of life in a gang.

Other activities included redesigning areas used by gangs to discourage antisocial behaviour and regular weapon sweeps which  resulted in the seizure of more than 200 knives and guns. The scheme led to a 50 per cent reduction in serious violence and antisocial behaviour in the area.

Find out who came second and third

Speaking at yesterday's ceremony, Jeremy Browne praised the winners, saying: 'The Tilley Awards celebrate the hard work people across the country have put in to make their communities safe and enjoyable places to live.

'Projects like those highlighted today demonstrate that even in the most difficult of circumstances there is often a real community spirit and genuine enthusiasm among local people to work together to tackle problems.

'The role of cutting crime is not the responsibility of the police alone, we all have a part to play to ensure we not only feel safe in our own community but also feel proud to live there.'