Dewsbury MP welcomes £709k funding to crack down on burglary and theft in crime hotspots

The Safer Streets Fund forms part of the Government’s concerted action to tackle crime, and aims to stop offences that blight communities and cause misery to victims from happening in the first place.

The extra funding will be aimed at improving security in areas particularly affected by acquisitive crimes such as burglary, vehicle theft and robbery.

These offences are the crimes that the public are most likely to encounter, and they are estimated to cost society billions of pounds every year.

Mark Eastwood MP said: “One of my key election promises was to help tackle crime and make our streets safer, and the £709,311 announced today for West Yorkshire Police will help deliver that.

“This new money will help fund proven crime cutting measures, such as increased street lighting, CCTV and locked gates around alleyways – and I am confident that this will prevent and reduce crimes such as burglary and robbery in the areas that need it most.

“I want people everywhere to feel secure in their communities and be able to live their lives free from the threat of crime, and this extra funding for West Yorkshire will help make that possible.”

The £709,311 of new funding will go towards measures proven to cut crime. These include simple changes to the design of streets such as locked gates around alleyways, increased street-lighting and the installation of CCTV.

The funding will also be used to train community wardens, deliver local crime prevention advice to residents and establish Neighbourhood Watch schemes.

Police and Crime Commissioners were invited to bid for a share of the £25 million Safer Streets Fund in January, with each project eligible for a grant of up to £550,000.

Bids were evaluated against a set criteria and bidders were asked to outline a plan to reduce crime within a local crime hotspot, demonstrating value for money, evidence of community engagement and long-term sustainability.

This additional funding comes alongside the Government’s commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers over the next three years, and the £1.1 billion funding boost for the policing system for 2020-21.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “I will not stand by while criminals inflict fear and misery on our communities.

“That is why I set up this fund to ensure we are doing all we can to prevent people falling victim to these crimes.”