£1.3 million of new public safety funding for Notts

New CCTV, street lighting and free home security devices will be coming to towns across Nottinghamshire thanks to £1.3 million in new funding.

Bingham, Woodthorpe, Beeston, Worksop, Balderton, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Mansfield are the areas that will benefit from the windfall, which will also pay for expansion of a scheme designed to create Safe Spaces in shops for anyone in distress, automatic number plate recognition cameras and a new guardianship scheme to promote women’s safety particularly during the night-time hours.

It comes after the Home Office today announced the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire has been successful in a bid to receive £1 million of new Safer Streets investment, with a further £333,000 being committed by Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry, for public safety schemes across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

The project will involve working alongside Nottinghamshire Police and all eight local authorities, Ashfield District Council, Bassetlaw District Council, Broxtowe Borough Council, Gedling Borough Council, Mansfield District Council, Newark and Sherwood District Council, Nottingham City Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council.

This comes after the office had previously secured £3 million during the previous Safer Streets project, which had led to the implementation of various interventions around the county and city, including refuge point cameras, clean up days and new laptops for Police Community Support Officers.

This led to extremely positive results reported, including a 56% reduction in residential burglaries in the targeted areas in Nottingham, a 43% reduction in vehicle crime in Kirkby-in-Ashfield and a 27% reduction in antisocial behaviour in Broxtowe.

“This is brilliant new for people across the county because it means that we have even more investment coming into Nottinghamshire which will make our public places even safer when out and about,” said Commissioner Henry.

“This additional £1 million will make a real difference to people across the county as we have seen through the success of the previous Safer Streets projects. As well as preventing crime, the scheme also aims to make people feel safer too by making public spaces more welcoming.

“I was also keen for our partners within the city to not miss out on being able to continue their Safer Streets interventions and so have chosen to commit an additional £333,000 from my office of the Police and Crime Commissioner budget to continue the amazing work being done in the city and maintain the fantastic working relationships we’ve built with all eight local authorities in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and we could not deliver this project without them.

“I have seen first-hand the amazing innovation in tackling antisocial behaviour and increasing feelings of safety in the county, with a country first CCTV Refuge Point Camera system, our Safer Gyms scheme designed specifically to tackle violence against women and girls, and much more.”

One of the people who benefitted from the last round of funding was 55-year-old Tracy Hunt, of Netherfield, who was so frightened after her front window was smashed that she slept downstairs for months so she could react quickly if her house was targeted again.

After receiving free home security equipment through Safer Streets, she said: “It has definitely given me peace of mind. I feel a lot better.”

Since the Safer Streets Fund launched in 2020, the government has invested £125 million through four rounds of the Safer Streets Fund, and the Safety of Women at Night Fund across England and Wales. Round Five was launched on 6 July 2023.

For the first time, a direct funding approach was adopted. As a result, every police force area across England and Wales was offered up to £1 million to bid for delivering a range of interventions over the period from 1 October 2023 to 31 March 2025.