North Oxfordshire MP, Victoria Prentis, has welcomed the announcement that Thames Valley Police will receive £972,264 in extra funding as part of the Government’s £25 million Safer Streets Fund.
The Safer Streets Fund forms part of the Government’s concerted action to tackle crime, and aims to stop offences that blight communities and cause misery to victims from happening in the first place.
The extra funding will be aimed at improving security in areas particularly affected by acquisitive crimes such as burglary, vehicle theft and robbery.
These offences are the crimes that the public are most likely to encounter, and they are estimated to cost society billions of pounds every year.
The £972,264 of new funding will go towards measures proven to cut crime. These include simple changes to the design of streets such as locked gates around alleyways, increased street-lighting and the installation of CCTV.
The funding will also be used to train community wardens, deliver local crime prevention advice to residents and establish Neighbourhood Watch schemes.
Police and Crime Commissioners were invited to bid for a share of the £25 million Safer Streets Fund in January, with each project eligible for a grant of up to £550,000.
Bids were evaluated against a set criteria and bidders were asked to outline a plan to reduce crime within a local crime hotspot, demonstrating value for money, evidence of community engagement and long-term sustainability. Thames Valley was successful in securing funding for two bids.
This additional funding comes alongside the Government’s commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers over the next three years, and the £1.1 billion funding boost for the policing system for 2020-21.
Commenting on the funding news, Victoria said:
“This Government was elected on the promise to crack down on crime and make our streets safer, and the over £970,000 announced today for Thames Valley will help deliver that.
“This new money will help fund proven crime cutting measures, such as increased street lighting, CCTV and locked gates around alleyways – and I am confident that this will prevent and reduce crimes such as burglary and robbery in the areas that need it most.
“I want people everywhere to feel secure in their communities and be able to live their lives free from the threat of crime, and this extra funding for Thames Valley will help make that possible.”
Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Priti Patel MP added:
“I will not stand by while criminals inflict fear and misery on our communities.
“That is why I set up this fund to ensure we are doing all we can to prevent people falling victim to these crimes.”
