Congratulations to the Community Safety winner of the EADT Business Award

Ipswich Central won the Community Safety and Crime Prevention category in last night’s EADT Business Award.

Tim Passmore said, “I’d like to express my congratulations to the team at Ipswich Central and also to the two runners-up, Ernest Doe and the Co-Op.

“We were particularly impressed by the dedication of the Ipswich Central team; regularly going beyond the call of duty to make Ipswich a safer and more pleasant place to be. Ipswich Central is a wonderful example of one ambitious team harnessing the power of private and public sector partners to work together to a shared vision. Their ambitious and innovative work to transform Ipswich’s Town Centre has been successful in bringing in additional Government funding to make the town centre and waterfront more attractive for us and encouraging new visitors.

The East of England Co-op’s commitment to the Reducing the Strength campaign and the impact that it has had on crime reduction also impressed judges. What started as a relatively local campaign to limit the ability to buy cheap, high-strength alcohol has been rolled out to all 135 Co-ops across the region.

Ernest Doe were shortlisted for their commitment to combatting rural crime which is a top priority for the Police and Crime Commissioner. Chris Chivers and his team continue to play an important role in helping elevate the fear of rural crime, and help members of the farming communities in not becoming victims.

Tim explains, “As Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk I am working with the Constabulary to deliver policing that positively contributes to our local economy which in turn encourages investment in Suffolk.
I believe we all have a part to play in making Suffolk a safer place in which to live, work, travel and invest. I am committed to supporting the Suffolk business community and by sponsoring this award I am hoping to engage with that community to encourage businesses to play their part.

“Business crime can have a devastating effect on the economy; it affects profitability and deters investment. What I will be looking for, as I select the finalists for this category, is evidence of innovative and creative solutions that have been created to meet the challenges that organisations face in the fight against crime. It could be a project or initiative which deals with alcohol or drugs, or the introduction of technology for crime solving and detection; something aimed at young people to make them safer drivers or the rehabilitation of offenders, to prevent reoffending.

Tim is pictured above with Richard Culley and Sophie Alexander from the Ipswich Central team.