As the chair of the Merton Community Police Consultative Group and a member of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, I was very pleased to hear the Safer Merton partnership was recently nominated for an award for its problem-solving techniques, and in particular its work with local gang members.

Problem-solving techniques are well established in Merton with the police and the council working together to bring a combined approach to difficult problems. The Flag project was the starting point when Merton got £180,000 from the Home Office to help with fly-tipping, abandoned vehicles and graffiti.

A good example was the problem of cars being set on fire. The police, the fire brigade and the council worked together to identify the hotspots (literally hotspots). Cars that were dumped were then immediately picked up from hotspot areas, thus avoiding a fire and enabling savings for the council and its partners of £350,000 - almost twice the original funding.

So successful was this attempt at problem solving that one of the police sergeants involved with Flag went on to train other police officers nationally in problem-solving techniques.

Another good example was a graffiti conference we held with local activists to look at a way forward. The council, the police and other agencies were able to set up community clean-ups. The good thing about this kind of scheme is that it is a sustainable solution. The area remains clean because local residents ensure it does.

When the then Labour council introduced a huge injection into the council's graffiti budget we were able to focus on the areas where it was difficult to engage local communities. The impact was very effective and made the money stretch that little bit further.

The work with the prolific offenders has also been a good example of problem solving. Addressing the actual needs of offenders - lack of housing, jobs security and not just the crimes they were committing has continued to result in a sustained drop in crime.

This latest work with gangs is just another excellent example of partnership working in Merton. The superb work the police have done on researching the web activity of some of the gangs and the subsequent visits to gang members' homes to inform parents and make the youngsters accountable for their actions will no doubt reap real rewards in the future.

Excellent practice in Merton - well done to all involved.

COUNCILLOR LINDA KIRBY Graveney Ward