Clear, Hold, Build
Clear, Hold, Build is an innovative framework, developed by the Home Office, to help police forces tackle serious and organised crime.
It reclaims and rebuilds neighbourhoods affected by organised crime, makes areas safer and increases public confidence in the police and partner agencies.
In the Leicestershire Police area, the first Clear, Hold, Build project was launched in June 2024 on the:
- Saffron Lane Estate, South Leicester
What is Clear, Hold, Build?
Clear, Hold, Build is a three-step plan which sees organised criminals and their associates cleared from an area through relentless pursuit activity.
The area is then held and stabilised through high visibility police patrols, assistance from partner agencies and community support.
With support from key stakeholders, residents will be equipped and empowered to build a strong and resilient community, free from crime and exploitation.
The three-step plan in more detail:
Interventions, in form of arrests and relentless disruption, which target organised crime group members, their networks, business interests, criminality and spheres of influence. The police will use all powers and levers to impede their ability to operate. This creates safer spaces to begin restoring community confidence.
Interventions, counter measures and contingency plans to consolidate and stabilise the initial clear phase. This stops the remaining or other organised crime group members from capitalising on the vacuum created. It improves community confidence by ensuring spaces remain safe. Visible neighbourhood policing in hotspot areas provides continuing reassurance that police are still present.
A single, whole-system approach to delivering community-empowered interventions that tackle drivers of crime, exploitation of vulnerabilities and geographic places where crime occurs. This improves living, working and recreational environment in the community for residents. It empowers them to work with stakeholders to generate resilience and build a safer community.
Inspector Paul Crewe, Commander of South Leicester Neighbourhood Policing Area, said;
“Clear, Hold, Build is a common-sense policing approach. Taking out organised criminal gangs will prevent violence, shut down county lines which will stem the flow of harmful drugs poisoning our communities and cut down on anti-social behaviour. That will, in turn, create a brighter future for young people in those areas.
“These areas have so much to be proud of, but serious crime has implications for the whole community, from an increase in anti-social behaviour to impacts on local services like the NHS and social care but we cannot do this alone – it needs a police, partnership, and community response if we are to get the message through to the people involved in serious and organised crime that they are not welcome here.
“Clear, Hold, Build is different from what we’ve done before because it has a much greater focus on the medium and long term, working with our partners to ensure the problems caused by deprivation and crime, do not simply start again.”
National Police Chief’s Council’s Serious and Organised Crime, Local Programme lead, Detective Superintendent Andy Farrell said:
“The national roll out of Clear, Hold, Build will help empower communities to stand united in the fight against serious and organised crime.
“Areas which have already implemented this initiative have seen successes ranging from dramatic reductions in ASB and violent crime to stronger, more enhanced partnerships with key community stakeholders and grass roots organisations.
“Clear, Hold, Build brings this all together. Through police led disruption, key offenders are targeted and removed, allowing the community to come together and have their say on how to move forward. While police play a key role in bringing offenders to justice, partnership work and community cooperation are essential to the success of an area reclaiming its identify and moving forward, free from harm, exploitation and the threat of future criminality.”