About the awards
The Safer Communities Awards recognise outstanding contributions to community safety in a multi-agency context.
Across Wales Community Safety Partnerships and other partners are working individually and together so that everyone in Wales feels safe and free from the fear of exploitation, crime and disorder. This work is often carried out quietly and by a small number of people who have a passion for making a difference to individuals, families and communities.
As well as recognising individual’s efforts, collaborative projects and partnerships, this also spotlights the work of all community safety professionals showing that their hard work is valued and makes a real difference to individuals and communities across Wales.
Find out more about the awards and previous winners
2025 Awards
This November we will be celebrating community safety success stories with the third annual Safer Communities Awards. The ceremony will take place on Thursday 27 November, hosted at Aberystwyth University. The afternoon event will be celebratory in spirit and recognise those who have had a real impact on people’s lives throughout the year. We’re delighted to welcome back journalist and BBC Broadcaster John-Paul Davies to present the awards alongside other guests and dignitaries.
We will be opening entries for the awards on Tuesday 26 August and entries will close at 5pm on Friday 3 October.
How to enter the awards
Entries to the awards can be self-nominated or nominated by a third party. Nominations are welcome of any individual, organisation or project working in Wales, whether paid or unpaid from public, private or the third sector – charities, voluntary groups and community groups.
There are thirteen awards categories in the following areas:
- Anti-Social Behaviour
- Crime Prevention
- Early Intervention
- Equalities, Inclusion and Cohesion
- Governance
- Modern Slavery and Exploitation
- Offending and Justice
- Organised Crime
- Public Safety
- Safeguarding
- Serious Violence
- Terrorism and Extremism
- Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence
Nomination requires a simple entry form to be completed and emailed to the Network. The nomination form includes the opportunity to describe why you think this person, project or partnership should receive an Award. You should use the form to provide information about the impact on communities or individuals that has been made. You can enter more than one category with one entry form, as long as the initiative covers multiple topics. Entries can be completed in Welsh or English.
Judging
Entries will be reviewed by an awards panel who will decide the category and overall winners. The panel is chosen to avoid as many conflicts of interest as possible, whilst bringing together those with specialist knowledge on community safety in government, public and the third sectors. The panel is made up of a representative from Welsh Government, Welsh Local Government Association, Policing in Wales and the Wales Safer Communities Network.
If there are any questions or clarifications required by the panel in order to make a fully informed decision, this will be communicated with the nominator by the Wales Safer Communities Network team. The panel’s decision will be final.
Scoring criteria
Each entry will be scored on:
Prevention
- Does the initiative prevent something from happening?
- Does it prevent escalation or re-occurrence of an issue?
Innovation or improvement
- Is the approach innovative?
- Does it improve on previous experience?
Impact
- What impact has the initiative had on individuals or communities?
- How has it improved quality of life or community safety?
The judges will score each entry from 1 to 10, in each of these areas. The highest overall score in the category will be awarded as the winner. The overall winner will be determined by the highest scores and the initiative or project the judges feel best showcases excellence.