An independent evaluation of the Government’s Safer Streets funding shows it is leading to growing confidence and engagement with the Police.
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 fund was launched, more than £3 million has been secured by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to help tackle crime and improve safety across the 2 counties.
The money has been used to prevent and address violence against women and girls, neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour.
The report said 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.
Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones said:
“This is welcome praise of the hard work that has gone into securing these investments year on year to make Hampshire and the Isle of Wight safer.”
Article continues below this advertisement “This review shows that the work we do as Police and Crime Commissioners is making a tangible difference to feelings of safety, solving crime and improving the public’s confidence in policing.
“As Commissioner, I’ve been very clear that I expect police to work with councils and other partners to make communities safer, to cut crime and anti-social behaviour. The Safer Streets Funding rounds help make that happen.”
The Home Office has, to date, run 4 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 Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, paid for with Safer Streets funding, have so far included:
- Installing cameras and lighting and removal of a building to improve lines of sight in Hoglands Park and the wider Bargate Ward in Southampton reducing ASB by 45%
- Equipping entertainment venues with relevant training and toolkits to spot vulnerability, target perpetrators and prevent harassment and extra CCTV operator to spot suspicious, predatory behaviour in Southampton as well as the introduction of a ‘safe zone’
- Improved fencing and gating in residential areas, improved street lighting, improved CCTV coverage, general environmental improvements and maintenance to improve safety in
- Portsmouth, Basingstoke and on the Isle of Wight
- Installed situational measures including CCTV, upgraded lighting, removing offensive graffiti and commissioned artwork to open up ‘no go’ areas in Portsmouth
- Introduction of 50 Safe Spaces across Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport, Havant and the Isle of Wight
- Training and mentoring programmes which aims to make cultural change by giving people the confidence to call out inappropriate or misogynistic behaviour and talk about unhealthy relationships
- Extra financial support for youth services to work with young people in Millbrook and Redbridge to divert them away from ASB
Not sure Freshwater/Sandown/Newport and Ryde communities would agree.
What a load of BS, currently the IW police cover is a sick joke, every year the precept rises and we get little if any benefit.
Funny how we get all this gushing good news a few weeks before the annual increase demand then hear little if anything for the rest of the year.
Would LOVE to know how many crimes against women are from recently (within a couple of decades) arrived males to the UK. Much knife, gun and acid attacks are also higher since our population has been swelled unorganically by newcomers.
At one time, imo, not coincidently pre such, stabbings, gun crimes and rape were very rare in the UK.
Whilst undoubtedly we have plenty of our own involved know in such crimes, the proportion would make interesting reading, and IF we had not allowed in so many criminals then we would have more prison space to jail our own, thus making the streets safer.
The public have lost faith with the Police and the Police due to jails full cannot get the backup from the courts to jail crims any more
Totally agree, a but also Prison, is not much of a deterrent.. they have more luxuries than many families on this Island.. I agree the courts are too soft on pretty much all accounts, but I think a lot of that are the defenders.. Why are they allowed to talk down a crime , making the incriminator look not guilty ? When in actual fact these ‘ Defence lawyers are just paid liars… word things around so the guilty get a lesser sentence, fine, whatever. If one is guilty, then why should they get let off..?? Also why do some get a lesser fine for similar crime..??
So the useless Donna Jones has secured three million pounds in funding and yet we have not seen one jot of difference on the island in terms of dealing with general crime and anti social behaviour. We have two officers in a so called traffic division who are not new, they were just transferred from another section, and yet we will be TOLD that we are going to have to pay another big increase in the police precept on our council tax bills. This is disgusting and she should hang her head in shame, but of course she won’t. These PCC’s really need to go.
There has been a difference – more crime,less convictions,less police action, unable to get through on 101 and when you do you’re made to feel you have inconvenience them and they want to know more about you than want you want to report and now they want more tax payers money. It’s not front line officers at fault it’s managers and policies etc always wanting to manipulate stats for government.
You didn’t think she was going to say she has been doing a bad job did you? It’s easy to say you are great when nobody else has a voice.
Besides a few shops putting up a sticker and saying they are a safe place, what did the Isle of Wight get from the £3 million? Must have missed it.
Apparently we got ‘Improved fencing and gating in residential areas’.
So, that’s obviously sorted out the violence, drug issue and anti-social behaviour on the Island and made ‘a tangible difference to feelings of safety, solving crime and improving the public’s confidence in policing’, according to Ms Jones.
What a load of claptrap, she needs to go on the beat at night..
She couldn’t beat an egg.
I bet she could. Don’t most cake recipes use eggs?
Utter BS from the PCC and Co
What a load of clap trap.
Safe streets, don’t make me laugh.
Due to inconsiderate households parking on pavements causing havoc for everyone
it causes unnessecary friction.