Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Kathryn Holloway, on Monday, September 28, launched a new fund supporting the Safer Streets Project, to improve safety for residents in crime hotspots in Luton and Bedford after winning more than £882,000 from the Home Office.
In July, as a result of two successful bids submitted to the Home Office’s Safer Streets Campaign by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and PCC Holloway’s local authority partners, the areas of High Town in Luton and Midland Road in Bedford were awarded £448,150 and £434,000 each to improve safety.
The measures proposed include enhancing CCTV coverage using brand new technology which tracks intruders and target hardening including new gating around car parks and back alleys to prevent criminals from gaining access to homes or stealing cars.
The fund will also pay for advanced home security equipment for residents, including doorbells showing the caller to the home owner and bespoke crime prevention advice for both residents and businesses, delivered in conjunction with Bedfordshire Police’s Crime Prevention team.
As part of Commissioner Holloway’s ongoing commitment to make the streets of Bedfordshire safer, she is seeking to fund projects around community engagement which can run in conjunction with the technology improvements installed through their Safer Streets Project and i looking for ideas which come from residents themselves.
“It’s not for me or even Bedfordshire Police to tell the residents of High Town and Midland Road what they feel they need most to make their area safer.
“I trust residents themselves to have the clearest possible sense of what needs to be done as a priority, which areas are most exposed to crime and how best to tackle these.
“For that reason, I am inviting community groups based in either of these two areas to bid for cash help to put their crime-busting ideas into action,” said the PCC.
The application process will be open from Monday, September 28 until Monday, October 12 2020 and can be for grants of up to £15,000 each for the area of High Town and £10,000 for the area of Midland Road.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) is looking for bids in the following areas:
Bids for High Town, Luton:
- Bids that support the community and build resilience to crime
- Bids that are willing to offer additional benefits to the existing Neighbourhood Watch Scheme
- Bids showing engagement with residents which support the delivery of community interventions
- Engagement with businesses and stakeholders.
Bids for Midland Road, Bedford:
- Bids that support the community and build resilience to crime
- Bids that add to the service of the Home Visiting Team
- Bids that are able to support vulnerable residents who have been identified via these Home Visits
- Bids showing engagement with residents which support the delivery of community interventions
- Engagement with business and stakeholders.
Successful applicants will be expected to work in conjunction with the Safer Streets Project, Bedfordshire Police’s Crime Prevention team, the OPCC and their local council. They will be required to attend all operational Safer Streets meetings to build this programme together and provide feedback concerning the effect.
Applications for grants need to be sent via email by Monday, October 12, at 4pm. Successful applicants will be informed on Friday, October 23.
For assistance or any questions regarding the process, please email PCC-Commissioning@bedfordshire.pnn.police.uk.
For more information and details on how to apply, please visit www.bedfordshire.pcc.police.uk/SaferStreets.
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