Yeovil Retail Crime Reduction Team has been officially presented with the British Retail Consortium Safer Shopping Award.
It was two months ago that town centre manager Nina Higgins heard from the Home Office, which lay down the criteria, that the Yeovil team had been selected for the award.
An official reception was organised in the town house last week, where Chief Constable Steve Pilkington presented the award, which is valid for three years.
About 40 people - a mix of traders, security staff, local government representatives and police - attended the reception. The award is given to towns with a system in place to fight retail crime that meets certain criteria.
Deputy mayor Ruth Kendall welcomed guests with a short speech before handing over to town centre manager Nina Higgins. She looked back to February 2001 when the team was set up for groups and organisations concerned about crime and anti-social behaviour in the town centre.
Ms Higgins listed the radiolink system and mugshots of known offenders (issued by police under strict conditions) as major reasons for the team's success, saying: "We know these persistent offenders are going elsewhere."
Mr Pilkington also spoke, saying he had been impressed with the town's CCTV system four years ago when visiting the chamber of trade, and was even more impressed after having heard of the retail crime reduction team's success.
When talking about other towns being targeted as a result of measures put in place in Yeovil, the chief constable referred to "the poor people of Sherborne" before thanking all of those who had put effort into making the Yeovil team so successful.
Tim Chappell MBE, chairman of Yeovil Retail Crime Reduction Team, concluded the series of speeches by thanking Ms Higgins for getting the team off the ground.