Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews has announced plans to invest a further £200k in community crime prevention to support his mission to build safe and prosperous communities.
As the PCC unveiled his new Police and Crime Plan, he vowed to give voluntary and community organisations a pivotal role in his plans to make Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland stronger and more resilient to crime, announcing a fresh wave of grants from his Commissioner’s Safety Fund.
Building on the achievements of his first term in office, the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PCC has drawn up a new four-year blueprint that promises to get tough on the problems that matter most to residents and businesses.
The Plan, which has received full endorsement from the Police and Crime Panel, has been shaped by the views and feedback of almost 3,000 residents and more than 1,100 key partners and stakeholders during the PCC’s recent online consultation.
It identifies six key priority areas: Violence and Vulnerability, Road Safety, Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), Neighbourhood Crime, Business Crime and Rural Crime.
The PCC is now calling on charities and community groups to apply for a share of £194k to support his crime prevention work across these key themes.
Individual grants of up to £10k are available for projects delivered in 2024/25. The application process opens on December 2 with the deadline for submissions falling on Monday 6th January 2025 at 5pm.
Mr Matthews said: “My new Police and Crime Plan builds on the progress made since I was first elected in 2021. I have listened to the public’s views across the City and two Counties and those are reflected in the priorities I have set out.
“I’m determined to see a firm focus on the delivery of those priorities which is why I have earmarked nearly £200k from my Commissioner’s Safety Fund to get things off to a flying start.
“Local people are clear about what action they want from their police force. They expect a robust response to violence and support for the vulnerable. They want a highly visible force that operates well, and they want their roads and streets to be safer. These principles are built into my Plan, and it is my duty to make them happen. After all, we all want to feel safe and be safe as we go about our daily lives.
“Prevention will underpin all this activity as I believe strongly that prevention is better than cure. I will seek out and commission services that help residents thrive and empower communities to take ownership of local problems and work together to design solutions.
“Building safer and more prosperous communities must be a team effort in which we all play a positive role. These values formed the very building blocks of British policing two centuries ago, and I am proud to take them forward today.”
Across each theme, the Commissioner has vowed to increase public confidence and trust in the services the public and victims of crime receive.
Recognising the need to address the root causes of crime, the Commissioner has renewed his commitment to prioritise prevention and insists he will ‘empower local communities to help themselves’ so they become more resilient.
He also puts strong emphasis on partnerships and says all agencies will need to become more proactive and less reactive in their response to the issues that can escalate and lead to crime if left unchallenged.
The Plan pledges to crack down the anti-social use of vehicles including e-scooters and illegal e-bikes and increase activity to tackle speeding.
It also promises funds for local communities to deliver crime prevention activity and an expansion of the People Zones approach.
In prioritising VAWG, the Commissioner vows to make Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland a place where women and girls feel safe, pledging a swift and effective response to stalking and harassment.
To secure the funding and resources needed to deliver his plans, the PCC vows to lobby the government further to revise the funding formula which unfairly disadvantages the force and said he would work tirelessly to obtain extra external investment to deal with the issues unique to the area.
For the full Plan visit: https://www.leics.pcc.police.uk/Police-and-Crime-Plan.
For more information on how to apply for a grant from the Commissioner’s Safety Fund visit: https://www.leics.pcc.police.uk/CSF-2024-2025.
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Posted on Thursday 12th December 2024