Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster has secured more than £1million to improve safety and reduce the fear of crime in Erewash and Derby City communities.
Following a successful bid to Round 4 of the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund, Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster has been allocated £401,315 to reduce neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the IIkeston Town and Cotmanhay village areas of Erewash.
The Commissioner also endorsed Derby City’s bid to the programme which has netted £749,973 to be invested in improvements in areas within Alvaston, Derwent, Arboretum and Normanton before September 2024.
The funding will be spent on a mixture of practical interventions including home security and CCTV/Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras and diversionary activities for young people. This will strengthen the Police and Crime Commissioner’s plans to protect law-abiding people and support police efforts to crackdown on the issues that impact on community life and public confidence.
Work will focus on issues such as burglary, robbery, vehicle crime (particularly motorbikes) and anti-social behaviour with drug-related crime a secondary target in Erewash and knife crime, violent crime, organised crime, vehicle crime, drug offences and environmental anti-social behaviour in Derby City.
“This funding will deliver long-lasting improvements to the safety infrastructure of Erewash and Derby City, helping to reassure local residents and supporting the work of the police in catching criminals,” said Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster.
“Burglaries, theft and anti-social behaviour are key priorities in my Police and Crime Plan, reflecting the views of residents across Derbyshire. More than six in 10 people in my recent Erewash survey said they were worried about being a victim of anti-social behaviour, with drug-related behaviour another concern. I want to make sure people feel safe in their home and in their community. My Safer Streets bid set out detailed action for addressing these issues and preventing future problems and I will be working alongside our partners to achieve this.
“This additional Home Office funding complements my wider Police and Crime Plan’s promises to build stronger and more resilient communities with the resources and support they need to tackle problems early on before they escalate, placing bigger demands on our health, enforcement and justice services.”
In Erewash, Safer Streets funding will deliver five re-deployable CCTV cameras, five ANPR cameras and poles, free home security upgrades for 900 properties, landscaping work and footpath restrictions for motorcycles, youth diversionary work to prevent anti-social behaviour, a community engagement building officer role and a new anti-social behaviour perpetrator pilot for low-level adult perpetrators among other projects.
Councillor Carol Hart, Leader of Erewash Borough Council said: “The Safer Streets funding is a significant investment in local communities and I am delighted Erewash has been awarded this funding. The activities planned cover a number of key priorities for residents in the targeted areas. The team have put forward a bid that not only increases the interventions that hopefully prevent crime and identify offenders now, but also looks to work to prevent young people becoming involved in anti-social behaviour or crime in the future.”
In Derby City, the funding will include provision of peer-led interventions and support for young people identified at risk of offending, the delivery of street success initiatives to inspire, guide and mentor high-risk offenders, nature-based locality interventions for high-risk offenders and alternative education provision for high-risk offenders.
It will also fund a CCTV and street lighting programme, deployable cameras and ANPR kits, a scrambler motorbike to assist with tackling neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour and training for young people in schools about drugs, environment crime and life skills.
Leader of Derby City Council, Councillor Chris Poulter, said: “I’m really proud of the teams here for pulling together this third successful bid. To have been awarded the maximum amount is a real testament to what we’ve done so far, and will allow us to continue this important work, alongside our partners.
“I’d like to thank the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Home Office for supporting our work.”