Local community groups across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent can now apply for funding to turn great ideas that will make their area safer into reality.
Staffordshire’s Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Ellis, is making £400,000 available via his People Power Fund and Proceeds of Crime Act Fund.
Hundreds of ideas have been funded by the Commissioner over recent years with grants between £100-£3000 for People Power Fund and £3000-£15,000 for POCA.
Applicants have until September 14 to make their application.
The PPF is supporting locally-driven community safety activities throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. These could include providing long-term positive activities for young people to help reduce anti-social behaviour, mentoring programmes for targeted local groups through to activities that reassure and improve the quality of life for local people in local areas.
The Commissioner’s Proceeds of Crime Fund sees money and assets confiscated from criminal seizures funding projects to make communities safer.
Mr Ellis said: ‘The People Power Fund helps to make local communities with ideas to make them safer. It is really easy to apply for and is about preventing problems like anti-social behaviour. It could be better security or anything that is likely to successfully deter wrong-doing and community nuisance.
‘The Proceeds of Crime funding always gives me a warm feeling. Staffordshire Police strip offenders of their ill-gotten gains and then we make it available in grants to support activities preventing crime.
‘A bit of a virtuous circle…. criminals commit crime, police via the Courts seize their assets and that provides money to make places safer.’
People Power applications need to be sponsored by the group’s Neighbourhood Police Officer or PCSO and will initially be assessed by the local Community Safety Partnership.
The People Power Fund is one part of the Commissioner’s Community Funding for 2018/19.
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