New report says ‘Safer Streets Fund’ is building confidence in the police

• An independent evaluation of the Government’s Safer Streets funding shows it is leading to growing confidence and engagement with the police
• Since the fund was launched in 2020, more than £3 million has been secured by Gloucestershire’s Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to tackle crime in the county
• The money is being used to prevent and address issues in areas including male violence against women and girls, neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour
• Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson said, “This is a welcome endorsement of the hard work that has gone into securing this investment and the benefits of working closely with partners to make our communities better”.

Communities benefitting from the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund are less likely to worry about being mugged or robbed, according to an independent evaluation of the first round of funding.

The Safer Streets Fund was launched in January 2020 with the aim of reducing acquisitive crime in the worst affected local residential areas. Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) across England and Wales were encouraged to bid for funding to invest in relevant crime prevention measures.

Since the Home Office widened the criteria, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire (OPCC) has secured more than three million pounds of funding to spend on tackling issues like male violence against women and girls, rural crime and anti-social behaviour in Gloucestershire.

PCC Chris Nelson said, “I am pleased to see that this initial review shows that the work we do as Police and Crime Commissioners is making a tangible difference and improving the public’s confidence in policing.

“It is a welcome endorsement of the hard work that has gone into securing this investment and the benefits of working with partners to make our communities better.

“I’ve been very clear that I want the police to work with councils and other partners to create safer communities and cut crime and anti-social behavior. The Safer Streets Fund (SSF) helps make that happen.”

The Home Office has, to date, run four rounds of the Safer Streets Fund, making money available to communities across England and Wales to help combat a range of crimes, including theft, anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls in public spaces.

Crime prevention initiatives in Gloucestershire, paid for with Safer Streets funding, have so far included:

• The deployment of cameras and lighting where women and girls say they feel unsafe, including around Gloucester Park
• six PCSOs – one for each district to deal with low-level ASB
• support to prevent street drinking in Gloucester and Cheltenham
• recruiting a dedicated community outreach worker to engage with women and girls around the Gloucester Park area
• a training programme, which aims to make cultural change by giving people the confidence to call out inappropriate or misogynistic behaviour
• extra financial support for The Nelson Trust’s Sex Worker Outreach programme, which helps vulnerable women in Gloucester
• enhanced forensic testing in relation to neighbourhood crimes such as burglary
• rural crime prevention tactics such as search lights, wildlife cameras, night-vision gear, trackers for farming equipment, grab bags for badger crime and poacher blocks
• better software for witnesses to upload digital doorbell footage to police
• a new fleet of drones to safely collect real-time data and support rural communities
• youth diversion

Mr. Nelson said, “Increasing public safety in our communities, and restoring people’s confidence in the police and pride in where they live, is an absolute priority.

“We are witnessing firsthand the positive impact these preventative initiatives are having in supporting victims, tackling anti-social behaviour, embedding vital community safety projects and helping to tackle male violence against women and girls.

“I want our streets to be safe for everyone to go about their daily lives without fear inflicted on them by criminals. I look forward to continuing this work alongside our partners, preventing crime and making a real difference to the lives of those in our communities.”

Kantar Public carried out the evaluation between May 2020 and November 2021. It set out to measure the differences made by the SSF1 programme by analysing police recorded crime data and primary survey data on public perceptions of crime and safety.

Among its findings was the positive impact of investing in initiatives to improve local environments; how it made people feel safer and more engaged in their communities and an improvement in residents’ perceptions of their local police doing a good or excellent job.