These fantastic projects were winners and nominees of the 2016 Safer Communities Awards.

Child Exploitation & Online Protection

Finalists in the Early Intervention and Education category of the 2016 Safer Communities Awards. This Lanarkshire based initiative sought to treat the target audience of children/young people as the experts who simply needed some guidance as to the parameters in which they could safely interact with the internet. Advice was sought from the audience as to how improvements could be made. By respecting the young people’s knowledge and focussing discussions on their decision-making process, police officers were able to get children/young people to open up about their experiences through which the real underlying issues could be identified and addressed.

Fife Water Safety Initiative

Winner of the People’s Choice Award 2016. Following the deaths of two young males at a known swimming spot in an abandoned quarry there was a great deal of public pressure to tackle the issue. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) used their expertise in youth education formulating a partnership with Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the local authority and education services to develop a project that educated young people about the dangers of open water drowning, cold water shock and the harsh realities associated with the limitations available to perform rescues and the emotional impact following a death from drowning.

Freestyle Environmental Visual Audit (FEVA)

This South Ayrshire project were winners of the 2016 Safer Communities Strengthening Community Engagement and Resilience Award. Wallacetoun had a large number of environmental issues from litter and dog fouling to fly tipping. The project built on previous multi-agency work to tackle concerns raised over the inappropriately disposal of drug paraphernalia, and to develop a multi-agency intergenerational project which would have had an impact on environmental issues, whilst educating young people to the dangers of issues such as fire raising, dog fouling and discarded alcohol and drug paraphernalia.

NPS Community Improvement Partnership (CIP)

Winner of the Early Intervention and Education Award at the 2016 Safer Communities Awards. The partnership included members from the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Division (Police Scotland), Edinburgh Alcohol and Drugs Partnership and NHS Lothian. The project aimed to reduce the harmful effects that NPS by applying for new legislation to disrupt the sale of NPS products, and developing an education programme to increase awareness of the dangers of NPS use.

Safety Advisory Group

This Scottish Borders Project were finalists in the Wider Partnership category of the Safer Communities Awards 2016. The SAG process provides a ‘one stop shop’ for event organisers. Prior to the introduction of SAG event organisers had to send emails and make phone calls to many agencies and departments. Now they have everyone they need to meet around the table.

Scottish Borders Rural Crime Prevention

Winners of the Safer Communities Awards 2016 Innovative Media Campaign Award. Between 2012 and 2015 there was a dramatic increase (138%) in the volume and value of rural thefts. The impact of rural crime on communities and their economy resulted in Scottish Border Council and Police Scotland establishing a project to reduce incidents of rural crime by raising awareness of security and crime prevention and empowering farmers to be responsible for their own property.

#StrongerNorth

This Edinburgh project were winners of the 2016 Safer Communities Wider Partnership Award. To tackle local perceptions of the area and reduce fear of crime the #StrongerNorth multi-agency strategic response was established. #StrongerNorth aimed to improve responses to individuals engaged in offending and ASB; provide a cleaner, greener environment, enhance opportunities for young people, develop approaches to working with families engaged in or at risk of crime and improving communication and engagement with residents.

You’re Asking For It

Finalists in the Innovative Media Campaign Award at the Safer Communities Awards 2016. ‘YOU’RE ASKING FOR IT’ was established in response to concerns about young people access to alcohol. The project adopted a holistic approach involving young people, retailers, parents and adults in the community, putting the community at the heart of the solutions. The project worked collaboratively to reduce the supply of alcohol through engagement, education and enforcement.