Top police forces celebrated at inaugural National Community Engagement Awards
On 3rd March 2026 police forces and partner organisations from around the UK gathered in Hull for the inaugural National Community Engagement Awards. Organised by VISAV Ltd, providers of the Neighbourhood Alert engagement and CRM platform, and co-hosted by Humberside Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside, the evening saw awards presented to individuals, teams and forces in recognition of initiatives and campaigns relating to community engagement.
The prestigious ‘Best Force’ award, as voted by 144,000 registered members of the public on the Neighbourhood Alert system, went to The Metropolitan Police Service who achieved the highest percentage of positive responses to the question ‘Has your confidence that the police listen to and understand your concerns changed since you have been a member of the system’.
Some truly outstanding initiatives by Lancashire Constabulary saw them claim four of the top awards:
- Biggest effect on reducing crime.
- Delivering crime prevention campaigns.
- Best use of Neighbourhood Alert for community intelligence and arrests.
- Communicator of the year (joint winners with Kent Police).
Humberside Police received a special VISAV award for ‘community engagement innovators’ for their collaborative work with VISAV in co-designing solutions now in use by multiple UK forces. This included a targeted engagement module, a ‘you said, we did’ enhanced survey tool, and the proof of concept to enable forces and local authorities to effectively manage their local Key Individual Networks.
Northamptonshire Police secured the ‘most proactive team for reaching seldom heard communities,’ and Derek Pratt MBE was recognised as the most proactive Neighbourhood Watch Volunteer in his role as Deputy Chair and Secretary of Sussex Neighbourhood Watch.
Humberside Chief Constable Chris Todd said ‘It was a pleasure to welcome the VISAV team to Humberside. As a force we pride ourselves on our community focus and our local Neighbourhood Policing approach; with our My Community Alert system being very much part of that – so it felt even more special to host the conference and celebrate the importance of communicating and engaging with the communities we serve.’
Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside Leo Hammond said ‘It is a privilege to congratulate all the police forces and partners celebrated at these inaugural awards for their outstanding work in building public trust. I am especially proud of the team at Humberside Police for being recognised as community engagement innovators. By co-designing new tools with VISAV, we are ensuring our residents are not just heard but are active partners in making our communities safer and more connected.’
Kate Algate, Strategic Director, VISAV Ltd, said ‘It was a real honour to celebrate with police colleagues who tirelessly work with communities to ensure that communities feel assured, listened to, and understand crime prevention measures which they can take, along with having quality two-way communication with communities on local concerns and matters’.
The Neighbourhood Alert system is in use by 40 UK police forces to ensure they undertake effective, two-way community engagement, listen to their communities policing priorities and build trust and confidence within those communities. National partners include Neighbourhood Watch England and Wales, Neighbourhood Watch Scotland, Report Fraud and Get Safe online. At the time of writing there are 1.63 million members of the UK public registered on the Neighbourhood Alert system.
For more information and case studies from the award nominations, please visit our conference website: Visit website