Henry Smith MP has congratulated Crawley & Gatwick Business Watch on receiving the 2014 Partnership Innovation Award from the National Association of Business Crime Partnerships.

Henry said;

"I congratulate Crawley & Gatwick Business Watch on winning this prestigious award, for the Amber Drugs Referral Scheme.

"As Patron of the group, I am very proud of their efforts to improve quality of life in our town."

The scheme began last year, following discussions with CGBW Pubwatch members and Sussex Police. CGBW members worked with the force to share good practices on what could be done to prevent drug use on their premises.

Any member that is ‘caught’ is given a six month Pubwatch exclusion, where they are banned from all Pubwatch members’ premises.

They can either accept this, or have the opportunity to make arrangements and attend a consultation with Crime Reduction Initiatives, a drugs referral unit. Once they have attended, their exclusion is then downgraded to a six months probationary period.

For more information on Crawley & Gatwick Business Watch, please visit www.cgbw.org.uk