Safer Streets

Safer Streets Round 5 was launched by the Home Office in July 2023, with a direct funding model rather than competitive application process being used. The Police and Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire had access to £1 million of funding, £465,000 in the second half of 2023/24 and £535,000 in 2024/25.

An application for the full £1 million funding was submitted to the Home Office and this was agreed in October 2023.

On 14 December 2023 we received information from the Home Office that they were making reductions to the funding in Year 2. We needed to make a reduction of £180,000 for the 2024/25 year, from £535,000 to £355,000.

We worked with partners to achieve this new total. We brought forward some work into Year 1 using underspend. We reduced the number of cameras and monitoring in certain locations. We are pleased to say that we limited the interventions we cancelled.

We were required to re-submit the grant variation paperwork to the Home Office. This was submitted on 1 February 2024, ahead of the 23 February deadline.

Year 2 delivery update

Project 1 – CCTV

Intervention – Stratford CCTV

For Round 5, Stratford elected to have their funding in Year 2. This has enabled them to get the relevant permissions to site the cameras, complete consultations and meet purchasing legal requirements. The Team is now in the process of ordering the cameras to be deployed at four locations targeting County Lines and ASB hotspots.

SSR5: Waterside area where there has been drugs activity, ASB and VAWG (Google maps image)

Intervention – Rugby CCTV

Rugby had Year 1 funding to upgrade the Town Centre CCTV system including software and hardware. The upgrade enabled the expansion of CCTV cameras to be installed in Millenium Green.

Intervention – North Warwickshire CCTV

North Warwickshire have installed a total of eight new cameras and increased monitoring of CCTV cameras from the Town Centre CCTV Control Room. Ten specialist Fly Tipping cameras have been purchased in Year 1 and deployed in hotspot areas. This is to combat ASB caused by Serious and Organised Crime groups committing large scale Fly Tipping.

Intervention - Warwick District CCTV

This intervention is on track to be installed and operational by March 25 2025. Public consultations and structural surveys are now complete. The location of one camera has been moved after public feedback.

Project 2 – Anti Social Behaviour / Violence Against Women and Girls

Intervention – Warwick District Council Leamington Community Wardens scheme

Funding for the original Street Marshals scheme was transferred to a Community Wardens project. This has enabled increased staffing and resources for the service. The Community Wardens are providing an enhanced service to the community and support the work already being carried out.

Intervention – Nuneaton and Bedworth Target Hardening

Originally, Nuneaton and Bedworth had funding to extend a very successful Round 4 funded initiative, tackling ASB/Nuisance Bikes in the Dingle area. The area was Target Hardened with kick barriers and gates, protecting a large green open space. Due to capacity issues, it was identified that the expansion could not be achieved within the Home Office timescales for Safer Streets funding.

However, two Nomad CCTV cameras, one from the underspend from a Year 1 project and a further camera that was scheduled for Year 2, have been purchased and deployed to lamp columns in the area.

Intervention – Rugby Lighting

In addition to the expansion of CCTV cameras installed in Millenium Green, funding enabled lighting upgrades including the installation of lamp columns and new solar footpath lighting.

Project 3 – Empowerment

Intervention – Co-ordinator role

The Co-ordinator role has continued to work on all aspects of coordination and administration for Round Five Safer Streets projects.

Intervention – Warwickshire Police

Training of officers/staff on behaviour detection officer methodology, focusing on Nuneaton town centre, Leamington town centre and Rugby town centre has been completed.

Intervention – Crimestoppers

Crimestoppers successfully completed an educational and awareness campaign to combat Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), with some excellent results. This intervention was delivered on time, with the campaign going live from 17 January 2024 over a six-week intensive period till 28 February 2024.

The Crimestoppers campaign had the following themes:

• Improving understanding and confidence amongst the public on preventing and/or responding to VAWG and to prevent VAWG in public spaces.
• Move the attitude that the primary onus of responsibility and intervention lies with the victim. The wider community also can take responsibility for the problem.
• Looking at the perspective of victims/bystanders/those impacted and considering the community impact of VAWG.

The results proved successful with significant uplifts in numbers reporting VAWG related issues to Crimestoppers.

View examples of the creatives used during the campaign (JPG, 156 KB).

Intervention – Countywide Community Empowerment events

The 20 Lower Super Output Areas have been identified and crime data has been analysed to determine the types of crime prevention equipment needed at the events, which will support empowering the community to make their communities safer. This equipment was purchased in Year 1.

Local Safer Neighbourhood Teams from the police were consulted and a range of different Community Empowerment events unique to the locations are up and running across the areas identified. A survey has been created to allow the team to gather information from residents at the events, which will help empower the communities to make their areas safer.

Small scale interventions are being identified through the events. The team are in the process of evaluating the areas in question and planning the completion of the interventions.

Here is a round-up of some of our engagement events.

Home Office event

On 29 August 2024 we hosted an event in Leamington to showcase the Safer Streets projects to Home Office representatives. This was a great event with Phillip Seccombe, Warwickshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner giving an opening address to the attendees, which included Warwickshire’s High Sheriff, Councillors and Council teams from Warwick District Council and Warwickshire County Council.

We had project presentations from across the Round Five Safer Streets funding, along with a walk around Leamington with the Community Wardens to show the Home Office representatives the intervention to date.