A joint fire and police safety team has won a major national award. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and South Yorkshire Police’s joint community safety department won the award for Best Emergency Services Collaboration at the Excellence in Fire & Emergency Awards in London.
The accolade comes a little more than a year after the fire and police community safety staff were brought together to form a fresh team with the shared aim of keeping people safe.
High-profile activities
High-profile activities the team undertakes include home safety checks, crime prevention visits
High-profile activities the team undertakes include home safety checks, crime prevention visits, and youth engagement activities such as the award-winning Princes Trust Team Programme, which has helped to transform the lives of more than 200 young people in two years.
The teams also operate the Lifewise Centre which is an interactive safety centre in Hellaby, Rotherham. It opened in 2011 to deliver education packages to more than 20,000 local people every year, including nearly every Year 6 pupil in South Yorkshire.
collaboration project
Head of the Joint Community Safety Department - Simon Dunker, said, “South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s community safety teams came together last year as part of a flagship collaboration project, which brilliantly illustrates the benefits of working together for a shared purpose."
Simon Dunker adds, “The joint department has evolved each organization’s thinking when it comes to their community safety work, guided by shared strategic objectives of preventing emergencies, reducing demand, and releasing capacity to do more for our communities. This award is timely recognition for the working staff at both organizations have put in to make the department happen.”