MP ENCOURAGES CHESHIRE CONSTABULARY TO BID FOR SAFER STREETS FUNDING BOOST

Edward Timpson, the Member of Parliament for Eddisbury, is encouraging Cheshire Constabulary to bid for a share of the £150 million funding that will be made available in the fourth funding round of our Safer Streets Fund.

The fourth round will run over the next three financial years, and will be open to all Police & Crime Commissioners and local authorities across England and Wales, as well as certain civil society organisations.

This is on top of the £70 million already committed by the Government to the Safer Streets Fund.

The Safer Streets Programme provides funding to areas most affected by crime and anti-social behaviour, and will allow local authorities, civil society organisations and Police & Crime Commissioners to bid for up to £500k per year for each project.

The latest round of the fund targets neighbourhood crime; violence against women and girls; and—for the first time—anti-social behaviour.

Projects from previous funding rounds have made a significant impact on local communities.

Funding has been used to improve security for thousands of homes that were vulnerable to burglary, with alley gates installed to prevent an easy escape for offenders.

Other projects across the country have focused on setting up Neighbourhood Watch groups, increased CCTV, and the introduction of wardens to undertake community engagement and train members of the public in crime prevention—demonstrating levelling-up in action.

The Safer Streets Fund builds on existing measures brought in by the Conservative Government to keep our streets safe, including:

• more than 11,000 police officers recruited across England and Wales,
• investing £17 billion in the police, and
• targeted stop and search powers to tackle crime and protect communities.

The Government is encouraging all police forces and local authorities to apply for the fourth funding round, which is designed to markedly increase the safety of people in their local communities.

Eddisbury MP, Edward Timpson CBE, said:

“I am determined to see crime in our County fall, which is why I am encouraging Cheshire Constabulary to apply for new funding from the fourth round of our Safer Streets Fund.

“The focus of this round of the Safer Streets Fund on neighbourhood crime, violence against women and girls, and anti-social behaviour means that—combined with the reassuring presence of 20,000 new police officers we are recruiting across England and Wales—everyone can feel safe in their local community.

“This is another important step in our mission to level up the country and build back safer from the pandemic.”

Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, said:

“Our local communities are the beating hearts of the UK and I want our streets to be safe for everyone to go about their daily lives without fear inflicted on them by criminals.

“The Safer Streets Fund improves the safety and security of areas blighted by crime and helps the police and local councils ensure that everyone is safe on our streets, whether going to the shops or seeing friends.

“It also prevents potential perpetrators committing such crimes in the first place, so our communities are able to flourish.”

Crime, Policing and Probation Minister, the Rt Hon Kit Malthouse MP, said:

“As well as being tough on criminals, we need to outsmart them where we can, preventing their crimes.

“The Safer Streets Fund does exactly that, giving neighbourhoods the money they need to ‘target harden’ their homes and streets—outfoxing villains and making them think twice before offending.

“We want everyone to feel safe in public space, and as we build safer streets, town by town, I hope that we can restore pride, alongside safety, as something people value about where they live.”