The fight against organised crime goes global

Serious and Organised Crime affects communities on a local, national and international level.

This week, teams from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and ROCU network welcomed Sergeant, Sharee Bahn from Australia’s Victoria Police for a unique visit.

Sgt Bhan travelled more than 10,000 miles to the UK to learn about the implementation and impact of Clear, Hold, Build across police and partnerships.

The bespoke initiative which seeks to clamp down on criminal groups and empower communities to reclaim their neighbourhoods was rolled out nationally in February last year with forces continue to embed the delivery framework within communities.

Victoria Police is currently scoping out new ways to target crime and disorder, gathering and collating evidence of best practice from overseas to present to state officials with Clear Hold Build forming part of future planning and reform.

Over the course of three days, Sharee visited a number of sites across the Yorkshire and Humber region, meeting with officers, partners and community groups to see Clear, Hold, Build in action.

She also visited the National Firearms centre to learn about threat assessment and intelligence collection plans and finished the trip with a visit to the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police service.

Detective Superintendent Andy Farrell, NPCC lead for Clear, Hold, Build said:

“Serious and Organised Crime is not just something which impacts our communities here in the UK but it’s something which law enforcement is grappling with across the world.

“This has been an insightful few days and we are grateful to Sharee for travelling all this way to come and learn about Clear, Hold, Build and our SOC Local framework.

“The NPCC SOC Portfolio recognises the importance of collaboration across law enforcement and partner agencies to tackle threats. This enables organisational learning sharing across different specialisms to develop effective practice.

“By sharing learning and experiences we not only help our own initiative to grow and improve but also help boost the confidence of officers and staff, who can see the impact their work is making through someone else’s perspective.

“We know CHB is delivering real change for communities, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the officers and staff across the network for their continued professional approach. I hope you are all really proud of what you have done, not only to support this visit but for the wider work to tackle the deep rooted issues with surround SOC.”