The Staffordshire Commissioner’s Office has successfully secured almost £5 million from government funding streams since 2020, as part of a partnership approach to reducing anti-social behaviour (ASB), violence and acquisitive crime.
The funding, totalling £4.92 million, comes from the Safer Streets and Safety of Women at Night funds, and the ASB Action Plan. It has been invested into a range of practical, preventative interventions in targeted areas across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, tackling ASB, acquisitive crimes such as vehicle theft, burglary and robbery, and violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Due to the nature of the interventions and the partnership approach being taken, the work is also expected to have a wider impact on crimes such as serious violence, online abuse and other forms of violence.
Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime, Ben Adams said: “The funding secured by my office provides a significant boost to work already underway to reduce the threat of violence against women and girls, and tackle the anti-social behaviour that can damage 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.
“Reducing violence against women and girls is a key priority. Every public space should be a safe place for all women and girls, and through the Safety of Women at Night funding we have been able to put in place interventions to improve people’s safety when enjoying nights out in our towns and cities.
“Where ASB is impacting on neighbourhoods, residents can feel unsafe in their own homes, which is why the Police, councils, housing associations and others work in partnership to tackle these issues. In addition to the Safer Streets and ASB Action Plan funding, my office has committed nearly £1m a year for three years to strengthen these community safety partnerships with the aim of reducing ASB through community action.”
The £4.92m funding secured includes:
- Safer Streets 1 (under previous Commissioner): £1.068m invested in areas of Fenton and Northwood, tackling burglary by improving security to over 1,500 homes with new locks, security gates, lighting and alarms, as well as improved street lighting, alley gating and CCTV
- Safer Streets 2: £432,000 invested in Hanley to reduce vehicle theft and robbery through improved CCTV, lighting, gates and fencing, as well as redesigning a number of car parks to reduce opportunist vehicle crime
- Safer Streets 3: £550,000 invested in Stoke-on-Trent to improve the safety of women and girls in public spaces, through additional lighting and CCTV, as well as educational programmes and awareness campaigns
- Safety of Women at Night: £300,000 invested in Hanley, Stafford, Cannock, Newcastle and Burton to prevent VAWG in the night-time economy (NTE), including safe places, street pastors/marshalls, vulnerability training for NTE staff, awareness campaigns and a Women’s Night Safety Charter
- Safer Streets 4: £750,000 invested in Etruria and Hanley, Blurton and Longton West, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Burton and Stafford, to tackle ASB and VAWG through CCTV and alley gating, community clean-ups, diversionary activities for young people, additional NTE personnel, awareness campaigns and community projects
- ASB Hotspot Pilot: £1 million invested to tackle ASB through an enhanced uniformed presence in hotspots, including Burton Urban, Fenton West and Mount Pleasant, Hanley and Etruria, Stafford Town and Newcastle Town
- Safer Streets 5: £820,000 invested in Cannock, Longton and Tunstall to tackle ASB through additional street lighting, CCTV and alley gating, community clean-ups and educational programmes
Find out more about the partnership work led by the Staffordshire Commissioner’s Office to tackle ASB.
