30 Oct Council celebrated at Community Safety Accreditation Scheme Awards
Harlow Council’s Community Safety team, and Harlow Council as a whole, were recognised at a special Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) event at Essex Police Headquarters last month.
Members of the Community Safety team attended the event, which featured the first ever awards ceremony to acknowledge some of the great work going on by partners across the county. There are currently 36 Organisations and 414 accredited
persons as part of the Essex Police CSAS.
The CSAS grants a limited range of police powers to employees of non-police organisations to support and strengthen community safety. This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to issue fixed penalty notices for littering, graffiti, dog fouling and fly posting among other things, confiscating alcohol and tobacco products from young people and intervening to deal with antisocial behaviour.
Harlow’s Community Safety team were nominated, and were awarded runner up, in the Team of the Year. One of the team was nominated, and awarded runner up, in the Accredited Person of the Year Award.
Harlow Council was awarded Organisation of the Year – a great honour as the council is the first organisation to have its name engraved on the shield.
These categories were judged by an independent panel within the police, so that no one knew who was from which organisation.
Commenting on the awards, Councillor Stacy Seales, cabinet portfolio holder for community, said:
“This is fantastic news for the team and the council. These CSAS Awards are an acknowledgement of all the hard work officers have done as a partner within the scheme for the past 15 years, and the close working relationship we have with Essex Police.
“We know from our recent Residents’ Survey that residents are concerned about anti-social behaviour and crime. That’s why, as part of our priority to improve council services, our Community Safety team is out there in the town every day, playing an important role in making Harlow a safe place to live, visit and work in. It is excellent that Essex Police recognises and celebrates this. Congratulations and well done!”
