Proceeds of crime money to fund anti-social behaviour projects in Staffordshire
Staffordshire projects trying new ways to combat anti-social behaviour have been given a cash injection by the county's crime, fire and rescue commissioner Ben Adams.
Staffordshire’s nine Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) will receive a share of the £724,750 Locality Deal Fund to address community safety-related concerns and support schemes which address concerns by local residents.
CSPs are made up of representatives from the police, local councils, fire and rescue service, health and probation service and protect communities from crime and help people feel safe.
£100,000 will be split between the CSPs to support local problem-solving work and each CSP will receive £10,000 to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Money seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act, which sees money and assets confiscated from criminal seizures and invested in projects designed to improve people’s quality of life.
A further £100,000 will be made available to new or existing community groups, through small grants of up to £5,000, to build community resilience, designing and implementing community safety projects to address locally identified concerns.
Mr Adams, said: "Tackling crime and ASB are important elements in my recently launched Police & Crime Plan, but the police can’t fix community safety on their own – it has to be done in partnership.
"This funding will give a boost to local initiatives by supporting community or voluntary groups to address priorities in their area, helping local people to build on the great work they are already doing in keeping their communities safe."
He added: "We all have an interest in reducing crime and ASB that damages our communities. Where these problems are repeated, residents lose confidence in policing, with the result that many people think crime is high and rising, when in reality the opposite is the case.
"Each area has its own community safety priorities, so we need local knowledge not only of where the problems are, but also where the solutions are. We need to work together with local people to deliver these solutions and make a safer Staffordshire."
