Havering Police Officers Recognised For Their Fantastic Work Tackling Serious Crime.

Well done to Chief Inspector Charlie Routley and his team of officers who have worked tirelessly to battle serious and organised crime across Harold Hill as part of the Clear Hold Build project.

A number Met officers have been recognised for working with communities to tackle serious and organised crime.

The first ever Serious and Organised Crime (SOC) Local Awards were held at Huddersfield University this month. They recognised the outstanding efforts of police officers and teams in effectively tackling SOC across the country.

The event, organised and run by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC), celebrated officers who demonstrated exceptional dedication and highlighted collaborative efforts that led to significant crime disruption and stronger, safer communities.

The awards nominees were submitted from force across the country and were shortlisted by academic representatives from the University, the finalists were chosen by Chief Constable Steve Jupp, the National Police Lead for Serious Organised Crime.

There were three winners from the Met including Havering.

Detective Superintendent Will Lexton-Jones, responsible for delivering Clear, Hold, Build across the Met, said: “Clear Hold Build enables Neighbourhood Officers to tackle crime that matters most to Londoners, supported by specialist teams across the Met. By relentlessly targeting the right areas and the right people, they have brought relief to communities blighted by serious and organised crime

“These are inspiring examples of officers working tirelessly with partners to drive down crime and ensure it does not return, by taking a whole system approach. I am immensely proud of what they have achieved, turning the CHB strategy into action and making meaningful difference in the communities they serve

“While the Clear, Hold, Build framework is focussed on specific sites, there’s no reason that some of the tactics, best practice and partnerships cannot be formed elsewhere in London.”

Councillor Ray Morgon, Leader of Havering Council, said:

“This award is truly deserved for the hard work carried out by our officers and police in partnership and I am delighted that they have received this accolade.

“The aim of this partnership working is towards the prevention of crime and dealing with the issues that affect our residents. The Clear Hold Build is one example of what working together can achieve and we will look to continue to join forces to make our borough safer.”

Outstanding Partnership Approach to SOC Local winner – Havering Police and Community Safety Partnership

Joint work by the Met and partners has led to a significant reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour in Harold Hill. The site was selected after community members and businesses raised concerns about drugs, violence, shoplifting and ASB. 

To improve collaboration and coordination in tackling this crime, neighbourhood officers worked with the Havering Community Safety Partnership, the Community Safety Team and the Rough Sleeping Team. They established a multi-agency panel to take a co-ordinated approach in obtaining Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) against prolific offenders in order to help provide access to support services and reduce reoffending.

The panel has improved both the quality and quantity of CBO applications made at court and resulted in a more robust legal framework for addressing anti-social behaviour. It’s allowed for a more targeted focus on prolific offenders and has successfully integrated both prohibitive and positive requirements, facilitating deterrence but also rehabilitation, in an effort to tackle the root cause of offending.

CBO Panels are now being used by other neighbourhood policing teams in the Met, and forces nationally. The College of Policing has recognised this approach as best practice and guidance has been published on their website.  

What is Clear, Hold Build? 

Clear, Hold, Build (CHB) is a three-phase framework developed by the Home Office. It uses a problem solving and data-driven approach to improve the local response to tackling Serious and Organised Crime threats in a specific location.

‘Clear’ means targeted activity and crime disruption, working with partners; ‘Hold’ means stabilising the area to stop criminals moving in to fill the void; and ‘Build’ means community-driven action to address the causes of criminality and prevent it from happening again. CHB also tackles vulnerabilities (drivers of crime) within communities and those being exploited.

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