Clear, Hold, Build, is a Police initiative to tackle serious and organised crime and improve local communities. Ipswich is the latest town in Suffolk to officially launch a localised initiative.
It reclaims and rebuilds neighbourhoods affected by organised crime, makes areas safer and increases public confidence in the police and partner agencies.
This process was previously used in Ipswich to tackle a large group of youths that were hanging around the McDonalds in Tavern Street. There was some Anti Social Behavour (ASB) in the nearby St Lawrence Churchyard that was also tackled.
The key components are:
CLEAR – targeted activity and crime disruption.
HOLD – stabilising the area to stop criminals moving back in by partner interventions and continued enforcement.
BUILD – partner and community-driven action to address the causes of criminality and prevent it from happening again.
The first action was in Felixstowe. In mid 2023 drug related crimes and associated violence and anti-social behaviour in the town appeared to rise in comparison to the historic figures.
A spell of police-led Clear activity ran between August 2023 and July 2024, which saw over 15 search warrants issued, 45 arrests and dozens of drug and cash seizures.
This led to the Future Felixstowe project which aimed to work with the most vulnerable groups, improve the public environment and make Felixstowe hostile to criminality and ASB.
In Ipswich, Suffolk Constabulary and Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) are jointly leading the same tactic, supported by other key agencies.
Officers have been involved in a wide range of activities in Ipswich since March. There have been 90 arrests, with 18 of those charged. In total eight warrants were executed, while officers conducted 31 stop searches.
Results so far include three out of court resolutions, seven court convictions, with three addresses closed with notices for 24-48 hours to safeguard occupants and the community. Eight Traffic Offence Reports were handed out and 16 vehicles were seized.
Other highlights include £200,000 worth of cocaine being seized at one location, two cannabis factories being located and dismantled and weapons including crossbows and knives being seized. Three brothels were also identified, with females safeguarded and brothel managers arrested.
Much of the work is aimed at continued future improvement. With this in mind, there have been a number of engagements with the community and partners in the area, including the Maple Park Sports Project, Let’s Clean Together, ASB Awareness Week, Future Female Society, school inputs and the Suffolk Ethnic Police Association community event.
Partnership working has included Ipswich Borough Council’s ASB and environmental health teams, Trading Standards, Immigration and HM Revenue & Customs.
IBC has been working alongside Suffolk Constabulary as part of this project and secured £43,500 of funding. Part of this has been used to increase CCTV coverage in the project area.
Working in collaboration as a key partner, the council’s focus has included parking enforcement, including cars being repaired on the road, as well as littering issues within Maple Park.
Officers from the ASB, Environmental Health, Licencing, Private Sector Housing and Waste teams have been mobilised to support the programme, bringing their specialisms and various powers of enforcement within the Clear phase and in the planning for Hold and Build.
IBC’s Community Participation team will play a role in engaging community groups and individuals and designing further engagement opportunities in partnership with police colleagues.
Clear, Hold, Build in Ipswich is a three year project. The Clear part is already having an effect, and it is good to see that the Hold and Build part is in place. This initiative is vital for tackling some of the most difficult areas in town.
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