£14m To Empower Communities And Build Safer Neighbourhoods

Two new funds totalling £14 million are being made available to the voluntary sector to empower communities to take action against crime and antisocial behaviour, Crime Prevention Minister Baroness Browning announced today.

As part of the government's ambition to drive up community activism and build safer neighbourhoods, organisations from the voluntary sector across England and Wales are being invited to apply for a share of two new funds to support local areas in tackling the issues that matter most to them. The funds are:

• A £5 million 'Community Action Against Crime: Innovation Fund' - to bring together active citizens and encourage new and creative ways of working within communities to tackle crime, with a further £5 million set aside for 2012-13
• A £4 million 'Choices Fund' - to support the development of innovative local solutions to reduce substance misuse and offending by young people

Baroness Angela Browning said: "We know people are concerned about the crime and antisocial behaviour that blights many of our towns and cities. That is why we want to empower more communities to work together to tackle issues that matter to them locally.

"The voluntary sector plays a vital role in delivering this ambition and this new funding will help us to drive up action, encourage more creative solutions and build safer neighbourhoods for everyone.

"We will play our part too by making the police more accountable to the public they serve and ensure that local policing priorities are focused on what local people want, not on what central government thinks they want. We have also introduced the first ever nationwide street level crime maps which, along with regular beat meetings, mean the public can hold their local force to account not just every four years but every day."

(BMcN/GK)