Groups across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have just two weeks left to bid for money to help make their communities safer from the latest round of Police and Crime Commissioner’s People Power Funding.
As part of his commitment to local communities, Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis is providing £500,000 in 2015/16 through the fund in the form of grants of between £100 and £3,000.
The window for the latest round of applications for People Power Funding opened on Sunday 1 March and runs until Tuesday 14 April.
The fund is supporting locally-driven community safety activities throughout Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. These could include providing long-term, sustainable 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 in local areas.
Mr Ellis said: “I have significantly increased the funding that local areas in Staffordshire have to make their communities safer.
“The Commissioner’s People Power Fund puts half a million pounds back into local communities and is easy and simple to apply for. It’s about local ideas to sort out local issues like anti-social behaviour. If you’ve got a good idea, the People Power Fund may be able to help you achieve it.
“If you’re a community group with good ideas to cut crime or make your area safer go to the website now to find out more.”
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 £2.5 million of Commissioner’s Community Funding for 2015/16. The Commissioner’s Proceeds of Crime Fund is seeing 100 per cent of funding received by Staffordshire Police going back into local communities, through grants of between £3,000 and £15,000. It is made up of money seized from criminals as Staffordshire Police continue to strip offenders of their assets.
Partner agencies involved in community safety locally can apply individually or in collaboration.
More details, including application forms and animated videos about the funds, are available at www.staffordshire-pcc.gov.uk/fund
