• 270 projects and more than 100 organisations have benefited from the Commissioner’s Fund
• All must qualify under the PCC’s Police and Crime Plan priorities
• Many of the funded projects have an impact on the county as a whole, some are specific to local areas
• Bidding begins again on 1 September and ends on 1 December.
• Successful applicants will receive funding ahead of the new financial year  

Since he was first elected, Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Martin Surl has funded more than 270 local projects aimed at reducing crime and anti-social behaviour. Now he is on the lookout for more.

Many are having an impact on the county as a whole. Some are specific to their local area.

The Connect 2: Computer Clubs project run by Gloucestershire Rural Community Council offers free technical tuition for older people in Gloucestershire. It helps to get them started, feel more confident online and learn computer basics on their own terms.

So far the project has helped over 100 people across 5 new clubs to use a computer, surf the web and brush up on their computer skills, as well as providing vital social interaction. And, after a small grant from the Commissioner’s Fund helped to get it up and running, it has attracted other finance and is now self-sufficient, which is another of the fund’s aims.

Mr. Surl said, “Any voluntary or community sector organisation or group with a constitution and a bank account can apply for grants to support new and innovative projects, providing they address at least one of my Police and Crime Plan priorities.

“As an example, Connect 2: Computer Clubs not only gives older people the chance to become more involved in their communities, it also teaches them computer skills that will help keep them safe online.

“Through the Commissioner’s Fund, I have also been able to support initiatives that will help the fight against gangs, alcohol and drug dependency and the impact all of those issues have on crime because community safety is not just about policing. It’s about everyone taking responsibility and playing their part in making their neighbourhood as good as they can be”.

The Commissioner’s Fund draws on the PCC’s Annual Budget and funding from the Ministry of Justice. Mr. Surl set it up following his election in 2012 to support schemes put forward by local people to make their communities safer.

City Safe and the ‘yellow card’ warning system qualified under the safe days and nights priority

Grants from the Commissioner’s Fund can cover a range of costs such as practical work, feasibility studies, or research projects, group or partnership development, awareness raising, training, equipment and materials, marketing and promotion.

If you have an idea you think is worth funding, please e-mail commissioners.fund@gloucestershire.pnn.police.uk and you will receive an application form when the bidding opens on 1^st September. The closing date for applications is 1^st December and the successful projects will be funded from April 2017 to coincide with the new financial year.

The Police and Crime Plan priorities are:

• Accessibility and accountability – Getting the right resources to the right situation or problem first time, every time, on time and dealing with the matter appropriately and effectively.
• Older but not overlooked – Older people need to feel and remain an active part of our communities whether they live in their own homes or are in residential care.
• Young people becoming adults – We need sensitive, relevant and effective policing to ensure our young people become law-abiding, productive members of society. The ‘system’ must work for them, not against them
• Safe days and nights for all – Gloucestershire has a strong night-time economy but it needs to be better managed, with alcohol related crime and disorder being reduced. Everyone should be able to go out to our parks, pubs and streets without fear
• Safe & social driving – People should be able move around our communities in safety and with as much ease and convenience as possible. The police will enforce the law when necessary, but we will all work to reduce offending and antisocial driving
• Safer cyber – Improving the capability of the constabulary to protect people from internet crime and anti-social behaviour on social network sites whether at their place of work or in their own homes  

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