As part of the government’s commitment to drive down crime and
improve public safety, the Home Office has today (18 March)
formally launched round four of the Safer Streets Fund.
As announced in the Levelling Up White Paper, £150 million is
available over the next three financial years for police and
crime commissioners and local authorities across England and
Wales, as well as certain civil society organisations.
The Safer Streets Programme provides funding to areas most
affected by crime and anti-social behaviour and will allow local
authorities, civil society organisations and police and crime
commissioners to bid for up to £500k per year for each project.
The latest round of the fund targets neighbourhood crime,
violence against women and girls and – for the first time –
anti-social behaviour.
Projects from previous rounds of funding have made a huge impact
on local communities. For example, in Northampton funding has
improved the security for thousands of homes that were vulnerable
to burglary with alleyway gates installed to prevent an easy
escape for offenders.
In Humberside, one of the most deprived areas in the country,
money was given to improve communal entrances to prevent drug
dealing, as well as installing storage units to stop bike and
motorbike theft. Funding was also used for youth activities such
as football and boxing.
The Home Secretary said:
Our local communities are the beating hearts of the UK and I want
our streets to be safe for everyone to go about their daily lives
without fear inflicted on them by criminals.
The Safer Streets Fund improves the safety and security of areas
blighted by crime and helps the police and local councils ensure
that everyone is safe on our streets, going to the shops, seeing
friends. It also prevents potential perpetrators committing such
crimes in the first place so our communities are able to
flourish.
Crime, Policing and Probation Minister Malthouse said:
As well as being tough on criminals, we need to outsmart them
where we can, preventing their crimes. The Safer Streets Fund
does exactly that, giving neighbourhoods the money they need to
“target harden” their homes and streets, outfoxing villains and
making them think twice before offending.
We want everyone to feel safe in the public space, and as we
build safer streets, town by town, I hope that we can restore
pride, alongside safety, as something people say about where they
live.
, the Police, Fire and Crime
Commissioner for Northamptonshire, said:
We have seen first-hand how important the Safer Streets funding
has been here.
We’ve issued thousands of home security packs to residents,
installed new CCTV cameras across the county to deter criminal
behaviour, have erected alley gates to cut off anti-social
behaviour and are installing new doors to improve security at
residential properties.
The Safety of Women at Night fund has also helped us to launch
our SNOvan for Safer Nights Out, as well as encouraging pubs,
clubs and restaurants to take the Licensing Security &
Vulnerability Initiative (Licensing SAVI) assessments to improve
security at their venues.
All of these schemes have been made possible thanks to Home
Office funding which has totalled more than £2 million over the
last 18 months, and which has had a hugely positive impact in
Northamptonshire.
The funding is also used to tackle violence against women and
girls. In Sussex, for example, they have invested in a number of
programmes to improve safety for women including providing
bystander training sessions to encourage members of the public to
feel able to challenge inappropriate behaviour and support
victims.
Other projects across the country have focused on setting up
neighbourhood watch groups, increased CCTV and introducing
wardens to undertake community engagement and train members of
the public in crime prevention – demonstrating levelling up in
action.
The government has already committed £70 million to the Safer
Streets Fund to support local areas across England and Wales to
introduce initiatives aimed at preventing crime from happening in
the first place. We have also invested £5 million in the Safety
at Women at Night Fund.
The Beating Crime Plan also set out our plans to keep our
communities safe, to stop crimes happening in the first place,
and to keep serious offenders in prison for longer. The plan also
lays out the government’s plan for tackling crime and anti-social
behaviour with a commitment to working with local agencies and
partners to use the full powers and tools available.
