As of August 2011, 3,100 people had been arrested across London in the worst riots for 25 years. An estimated £200 million worth of property damage was incurred, and local economic activity was significantly compromised.

As the riots died down, anti-social behaviour in Greenwich, South London continued.

Greenwich Council asked us to help find a way to stop the problem minority from destroying their own community.

We invented a completely new way of changing a community’s behaviour that was low-tech, low cost and simple.

Where traditional messaging or hard policies like policing would have failed, psychology prevailed.

In 2009 scientists in Pennyslyvania discovered that pictures of babies faces actually triggers caring, nurtururing behaviour in adults. We wanted to conduct a social experiment: could the security shutters that were being ripped from the shop fronts actually become part of the solution?

We turned the inhuman metal sheets into portraits of babies from the local neighbourhood.

In all the budget had to be kept under £10,000. This money was spent on a project manager, a team of street artists and some paint.

One year on crime in the area around the retail units has fallen by 18%, the shutters remain untouched by vandalism and the residents say their community feels safer than ever before.

Although we received a lot of positive PR - 35 media outlets in 12 countries and 3 continents broadcast the story – it was the fact that other communities from Belfast to The Bronx picked up the story that was really encouraging. One area with a history of troubles, Northern Ireland, is now planning to roll out this project in Craigavon this year.

Philosopher Alain de Botton said this of The Power of cute ‘A highly ingenious and intelligent way of solving an age-old problem; this project shows how effective an idea can be when it's based on a proper psychological understanding. The agency deserve all the recognition they can get for this truly terrific scheme.'

Regarding persistence, though our Greenwich project may be complete there’s an awful lot more to do. In the UK alone it’s estimated there are 70,000 takeaways that are closed during the daytime – add to this the closed shops (Jessops, HMVs and smaller victims of the economic climate) and you have a population permanently surrounded by soulless steel. We may have proven the symbolic power of a small gesture: painting babies onto shutters - but we’re conscious that this idea still has a lot of room to grow.