A multi-agency approach to tackling serious and organised crime in Halifax and surrounding areas has been launched this week.
Over the past few months, police have been working closely with the community in Halifax and with partner agencies including Calderdale Council, local schools and community groups.
Yesterday (3 October), police and partners officially launched an operation focusing on key issues which have been identified through local community concerns, specifically anti-social behaviour, drug dealing, road safety, anti-social use of motor vehicles, fly tipping and littering.
The initiative is based on the Home Office’s ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ tactic to improve areas blighted by organised crime across Park, Warley, Skircoat, Pellon and the town centre.
Police Officers from Halifax Neighbourhood Policing Team, Programme Precision and Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU) have been joined by Calderdale Council and local councillors, WYFRS, Halifax Central Initiative and other community members as part of the initiative.
Clear, Hold, Build is a three-phase initiative developed by the Home Office that uses a problem solving and evidence-based approach to tackle crime.
The initiative is designed to reduce serious and organised crime and the harm it causes in communities. By empowering the local community, police and partners can support in bringing positive change to those living in Halifax and surrounding areas.
Through a combination of targeted enforcement and community work, the initiative sees police and partner agencies clear an area of organised criminal activity, hold that location to prevent another group from filling the void, and build resilience so the area is less susceptible to criminal groups.
Halifax Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector James Graham, said:
“This is the starting point of a long-term project to disrupt and tackle serious criminality in Halifax and surrounding areas.
“We have already seen results with a number of arrests for drug dealing in the Boston Street area and over 100 traffic offence reports issued for road safety issues including speeding, driving whilst on a mobile phone and not having a licence or insurance.
“The community are at the heart of this three- phase initiative and we will continue to listen to all concerns and issues raised by residents and look to tackle them head on.
“We want to disrupt, prevent and tackle serious organised crime in Halifax and beyond, so that our communities can live in a safe and clean environment free from fear or harm.
“Information from the community continues to play a vital role in the success of this work and we would urge anyone who knows anything that could assist us to get in touch, anonymously if needed via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
Detective Chief Inspector Michael Cox, Calderdale District Police lead for Serious and Organised Crime added:
“We know that organised crime can pose significant risk to our communities, and we are confident that this robust and united response will give us chance to bring sustainable and positive change.”
“Everyone has the right to feel safe and be safe in their homes and within the community which they live and work. Together, as a collective, we are working to achieve this.
“This Home Office led initiative is already proving successful within other areas of West Yorkshire and nationally across the country. We are hopeful it will have the same success here in Calderdale.”
Cllr Danielle Durrans, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said:
“As part of our commitment to thriving towns and places that are safe and welcoming, we’re proud to be stepping up our partnership activity to address the issues that communities tell us matter most to them.
“We can only achieve the outcomes we are seeking if we have the trust and confidence of local people and businesses, so we are building on the excellent relationships that already exist within the Clear, Hold, Build initiative.”
West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE is the Chair of the county’s Serious and Organised Crime Partnership Board and said:
“It is crucial that we work together with our communities to tackle the threat of organised crime and ensure a safer, fairer region.
“The Mayor has pledged to deliver a Serious Violence Strategy for West Yorkshire and the partnership work to combat organised crime will be part of that.
“The ‘Clear, Hold, Build’ framework has seen significant success in other areas of the region, and I am pleased to see it now being rolled out in Calderdale.”