Angelique Foster, Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner, has secured an extra £1m from the Home Office to ramp up efforts to combat anti-social behaviour (ASB) neighbourhood crime and violence against women and girls (VAWG) across the county.
The funding, awarded from the fifth round of the Home Office's Safer Streets initiative, will benefit the whole of Derbyshire and will support the Commissioner's tough, zero-tolerance response to the issues that concern Derbyshire and Derby City communities most.
The Commissioner and her team successfully secured funding for three multiagency projects over an 18-month period between October 1st 2023 and 31st March 2025.
They will see additional investment in tackling VAWG in the night-time economy in Chesterfield, Derby and Ripley, Neighbourhood Crime, ASB and VAWG in the High Peak area (Buxton town centre and Fairfield) and Neighbourhood Crime, ASB and VAWG in the Amber Valley district (Heanor, Ripley and Alfreton).
State-of-the-art re-deployable CCTV, covert policing, high-visibility warden patrols, communications upgrades, improved lighting and park improvements and outreach/educational activities to support young people are just some of the interventions planned as part of the safety scheme.
Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster said: "My office and I have worked hard and at a pace with our partners to secure this extra investment. The funding will bring even more money into our county to initiate positive change.
"ASB, Neighbourhood Crime and VAWG can be devastating experiences for victims that take a long time to recover from. They also harm our wider communities, creating fear and distrust and stop people from enjoying their lives as fully as they should.
"This grant will benefit all of Derbyshire and will boost my Police and Crime Plan priorities to build stronger and more resilient communities in which crimes are prevented before they have an opportunity to escalate or bring harm to victims.
"These projects include substantial extra enforcement and warden patrols alongside covert operations that will help bring more offenders before the courts. I know that this will be welcome by our residents."
The Home Office has previously invested £120m across the first four Safer Streets schemes. The latest funding pot amounts to £60m nationally.
The Commissioner and partners will invest matched funding to support the improvement work and maximise safety benefits throughout the scheme and in the future.
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