PCCs are putting Safer Streets Funding to good use
Police and Crime Commissioners warmly welcome the Government’s announcement last week that a further £20million is being made available to them through the Safer Streets Fund.
And while PCCs and their teams set about submitting bids into the fund for 2021, the money released last year under phase one of the scheme is already making a difference across England and Wales.
Just days before the Policing Minister’s announcement, the PCC for Cheshire detailed how last year’s funding had been spent on measures including CCTV cameras and batches of SelectaDNA forensic coding spray. This leaves a mark on offenders’ skin or clothing which becomes visible to investigating officers with specialist lighting equipment.
In Llanelli, money secured by PCC Dafydd Llywelyn is funding new Community Wardens as well as various home and bike theft protection products.
In Middlesbrough, improvements are being made to CCTV, street lighting, and alley gates. And hundreds of residents are receiving safe at home packs to explain how they can protect their homes.
In Northampton, door chains and letterbox guards are being supplied and fitted free of charge.
In parts of Barrow new street lighting has been installed in a back alley, and the local council has carried out additional street cleaning.
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Staffordshire, Matthew Ellis, is investing in additional street and alley lighting in specific areas of Fenton and Northwood.
In Skelmersdale, in Lancashire, improved street lighting and motorcycle barriers have been installed.
Property marking is being offered to some households in Norwich to help them safeguard against burglary and other acquisitive crime.
And on Merseyside, PCC Jane Kennedy has worked with Merseyside Police to set up a ‘Safer Streets Facebook Watch Party’ to update residents in North Birkenhead on how money there is being used.
APCC Crime Prevention Lead Roger Hirst, the PFCC for Essex, said: “Preventing acquisitive crimes like burglary and vehicle crime is not just about officers on the streets. It is about us all working together. Through the Safer Streets Fund, PCCs and our partners are encouraging communities to take pride in where they live and empowering them to make simple changes to cut crime and anti-social behaviour.”
Deputy Crime Prevention Lead Keith Hunter, the Humberside PCC, added: “PCCs know their communities. We work closely with police forces to monitor crime data and we are targeting resources where we know they will have the most impact, such as on the Westcliff Estate in Scunthorpe in my own county.”