Over £200k (£202k) is to be invested in tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) and violence against women and girls (VAWG) in Burton as part of the latest round of the Government’s Safer Streets Fund, following a successful bid by the Staffordshire Commissioner’s Office (SCO).
Round four of the Safer Streets Fund saw £750,000 allocated to areas in Staffordshire, including Burton, Stafford, Newcastle and areas of Stoke-on-Trent.
This funding is in addition to over £2 million already secured by the SCO through Safer Streets in rounds one, two and three.
The latest Safer Streets initiative forms part of Staffordshire’s preventative approach to reducing ASB and violence more broadly. In Burton the funding will be used to provide a range of partnership interventions including:
- Additional lighting, CCTV and environmental measures such as community clean-ups and removing graffiti in public spaces
- Diversionary activities delivered by Burton Albion FC for young people at risk of/involved in ASB and VAWG. Activities include sports sessions, youth clubs and personal development workshops
- Community awareness campaigns to address ASB, supported by a community engagement project to empower communities to identify local concerns, design and oversee projects to resolve them, with the aid of a small grant
- Street pastor schemes to be extended in night-time economies and vulnerable locations, increasing the number of trained, capable guardians able to support and signpost those vulnerable to safe places and support.
Due to the nature of the interventions and the partnership approach being taken, this work is also expected to have a wider impact on serious violence, robbery, theft, online abuse, gang initiations and other forms of violence.
Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime, Ben Adams said:
“Protecting people from harm is an absolute priority in my Police & Crime Plan, and this funding is a welcome boost to the significant work already underway to reduce the threat of violence against women and girls, and tackle anti-social behaviour that damages our communities.
“By taking a coordinated partnership approach, combining practical measures like CCTV and improved lighting with awareness campaigns and education programmes to change people’s behaviours, we aim to not only make our communities safer, but also ensure that they feel safer too.”
Leader of the Council, Councillor George Allen said:
“I welcome this funding package from the Staffordshire Commissioner’s Office, which gives the Council and the Police more tools to tackle crime and ASB in Burton.
“East Staffordshire Borough Council already has a suite of CCTV cameras across the town and this funding will go directly into improving the quality of those cameras so the police can do their job more effectively and our own Civil Enforcement Officers have greater ability to catch fly-tippers. The funds will also be used to boost the number of activities which divert young people at risk of being involved in ASB and VAWG away from crime and towards sports, youth clubs and personal development workshops.”
The Safer Streets round four funding is just one element of the SCO’s and partners’ commitment to tackling violence against women and girls across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, which includes:
- Securing funding from the Government’s Safety of Women at Night funding, to provide initiatives focused on preventing VAWG in public places at night, including in the night-time economy, in venues and on public transport
- Launching a partnership Violence Reduction Alliance to deliver the local Violence Strategy
- Holding a dedicated Violence Reduction conference
- Establishing a Violence Against Women and Girls Commission, to deliver related actions
Find out more about the latest round of the Government’s Safer Streets Fund at Safer Streets Fund continues to make streets safer – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
