Earlier this month I took the opportunity to visit one of the organisations I have supported ever since I was first elected as Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner back in 2012. The organisation is Positive Futures, part of the Catch 22 charity. The main focus of their work is helping young people develop their self - confidence and aspirations by running a wide variety of sporting activities throughout the year, countywide.
My evening visit took place at the skate park in Felixstowe where a football session was arranged. Around 15 youngsters took part, and it was a real pleasure to visit. I was thrilled to chat with one of the coaches who had benefitted from this scheme when he was a boy and is now giving something back to society; all because of the difference Positive Futures made to him as a young boy.
I am always enjoy visiting Felixstowe, the town of my birth. I can vividly recall when the Port of Felixstowe was a tiny facility, scarcely any different in size to today’s Southwold Harbour – it’s incredible how things change in a relatively short time. There is also another reason to highlight Felixstowe because of some very successful policing and multi-agency work being delivered under the relatively new Clear, Hold, Build programme.
Clear, Hold, Build is a Home Office mandated scheme (with no extra funding of course!) requiring a tough and uncompromising approach to eliminating high harm criminal activity in a small and well-defined neighbourhood. Something I fully support. It is a three-stage plan that eliminates the presence and influence of organised crime by tackling anti-social behaviour, violence and illegal drug dealing. In my view it is particularly important that everything possible is done to arrest and bring to justice these criminals, as one of their intentions is to exploit vulnerable youngsters and use them for their own advantage irrespective of the harm and misery they cause.
Following a successful pilot scheme in Lowestoft around two years ago, Felixstowe was the first Suffolk area chosen and after around a year’s work focussing on the initial stages, I am pleased to say the third section of the programme is just about to start. The first, ‘Clear’ stage, involved intensive police enforcement resulting in several arrests and successful prosecutions including removal of offensive weapons from our streets. This is followed by maintaining the status quo – the ‘Hold’ stage - with heightened police visibility which makes the area a very unwelcome place for thugs and criminals. This has really improved public confidence.
The final ‘Build’ stage is about to begin and personally, I am very excited by this opportunity for the town and assuming all community organisations, the public sector and businesses work together, these pockets of criminality will be extinguished and the area will continue to thrive. I have always believed it is communities who can resolve matters provided they have the resources to help deliver their objectives.
This is where I’m convinced our grants and commissioning schemes will really help local communities, especially during the ‘Build’ phase. That’s why I mentioned Positive Futures at the beginning of this column and of course there are many other organisations our funding has supported in the area. The Level 2 youth project based in the town centre has helped so many youngsters in the past few years and I have been amazed at the changes delivered by Shez Hopkins and her team during my visits to them. Seeing at first-hand what can be done is not only a privilege but makes me even more convinced that these great charities need and deserve our wholehearted support.
That support is based on my experience as a scout leader in Eye for many years. It was there I learned that all young people have potential to be good at something, if only we can find the key to unlocking that potential. That’s why I am so passionate about doing whatever I can to help these organisations who nurture and develop so many Suffolk youngsters who through no fault of their own did not have the best start in life or perhaps risk losing their way.
The Clear, Hold, Build initiative is progressing well in Newmarket and Ipswich, and delivering excellent results. Suffolk has always been good at working together and focussing on what matters to communities. Long may that continue, and such schemes will always be a cornerstone of my Police and Crime Plan. Well done to all involved!
For further details about grant funding please find details on our website.
Can I finish with a mention of the public meetings which the Chief Constable and I are hosting over the coming weeks. The first will be held at the Wherry Hotel in Oulton Broad tomorrow, Thursday September 25 at 6.30pm. There will also be meetings in Mildenhall, Ipswich and on-line. All the details are on the website.
Published in East Anglian Daily Times in September 2025