William Munro, Kincardine and Mearns Area Manager with Aberdeenshire Council, welcomed delegates to the Seminar and chaired the event. Mr Munro has chaired the Aberdeenshire Community Safety Partnership for a number of years, having been involved since its establishment in 1998.

The keynote address was delivered by Jim Gifford, Leader of Aberdeenshire Council. He was first elected to Aberdeenshire Council in 2007 and took over as the Leader of the Council and Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee following the local government elections in 2012. He also serves on the Formartine Area Committee.

One Second Prize of £100 and a certificate was awarded to Geoff Feeney of the South Marr Community Safety Group. Geoff took the lead and organised a project which involved a lot of background research on the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices whilst driving a vehicle.

Geoff's aim was to highlight the fact that although use of mobile phones whilst driving is an offence, using hands free devices also affects the concentration and behaviour of the driver. Geoff was able to persuade most of the other Community Safety Groups in Aberdeenshire to provide financial support for a radio advert which ran for six weeks on Northsound Radio. Geoff hopes to repeat this exercise later this year and hopefully the £100 prize can be used to kick start this off.

The award was presented to Geoff Feeney by William Munro, Chairman of the Aberdeenshire Community Safety Partnership.

Another Second Prize of £100 and a certificate was awarded to the "Peterhead Street Pastors " project. The Street Pastors have been established in Peterhead through the work of the Churches in that area, attracting enough volunteers who have trained to work on Saturday nights on the streets of Peterhead between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. They work in Partnership with Police Scotland and their aim is to keep the streets of Peterhead free from antisocial behaviour and safe for those enjoying the night time entertainment activities of the town.

The award was presented to Elizabeth Strachan representing the "Peterhead Street Pastors " by William Munro, Chairman of the Aberdeenshire Community Safety Partnership.

PREVENT - Counter Terrorism Strategy.

Presented by:

Police Sergeant Chris Smith, Partnership Development Officer and
Detective Sergeant Audrey Gibb, PREVENT Delivery Unit (North) Police Scotland.

The presentation was based on CONTEST strategy. This is the UK Government's Counter Terrorism Strategy the aim of which is to reduce the risk to the United Kingdom and its interests overseas from terrorism, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence.

There are 4 strands to the Strategy:

• PREVENT To stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism
• PURSUE To Stop Terrorist attacks
• PROTECT To strengthen our protection (infrastructure and crowded places)against terrorist attack
• PREPARE To mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack.

The Magpie Project - Banchory and Inverurie.

Presented by:

David Wood, Business Manager

Magpie exists primarily to promote the re-use of furniture, clothes, bric-a -brac and household goods. We directly reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites by selling on goods to the community at excellent value.

Magpie also helps those in real need by providing free furniture and other household goods. Many families and individuals have benefitted from this service over the years and we rely on donations from the community to allow this to happen.

Magpie also works with others to provide employment opportunities for those finding it difficult to either return to or start work.

Link to information on The Magpie Project .

Better Late Than Dead On Time

Presented by:

Theatre&.

"Better Late Than Dead On Time" looks at the impact of driver and pedestrian behaviour on one family. The issues are dealt with sensitively but presented in a realistic and humorous way to focus awareness and discussion with the audience.

It raises awareness of the dangers of using mobile phones, consuming alcohol and not paying enough attention to your surroundings. It raises the issues as they relate to age and challenges attitudes towards other generations.

Click the link to find out more about Theatre&