Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry has secured more than £1 million Home Office funding to boost street safety in Sutton-in-Ashfield and Worksop and protect women and girls from violence.
Commissioner Henry, who is delivering on her promise to secure Nottinghamshire’s fair share of central funding, was joint highest bidder alongside Cheshire in the latest round of Home Office Safer Streets Funding.
The cash – comprising £550k for Sutton-in-Ashfield and £550k for Worksop South – will help increase feelings of safety among women and girls.
It will fund new CCTV cameras, extra ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) technology to identify offenders, better street lighting and environmental improvement work as well as additional enforcement and high-visibility policing patrols in crime hotspots.
The Commissioner has been working closely with Nottinghamshire Police and local authority partners to prioritise women’s safety, listening carefully to the views of local people and focus groups on what makes women feel safe.
Announcing the funding, Commissioner Henry said: “I am determined that women and girls can walk without fear in our public spaces – this is a key priority of mine as your Police and Crime Commissioner.
“I promised to speak up for Nottinghamshire – at the highest possible level - and secure every penny I can to improve the safety of our county. This funding is proof that the Government is taking note and really values the way we solve problems here.”
“Working with partners, I will ensure that women feel safe on the streets of Worksop and Sutton-in-Ashfield by making sure they are well-lit and patrolled frequently.”
Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw, added: “Constituents want to see improvements in the town and I am delighted that Worksop has received this funding. I would like to thank Commissioner Henry for her help in lobbying for extra investment in our area. People should be able to feel safe walking our streets and the increased funding, which can be invested in state-of-the-art technology and other initiatives, will help to make this a reality.”
Commissioner Henry is determined to do more to protect communities at increased risk of crime as part of the Government’s ambitious ‘levelling up’ plans.
In Sutton-in-Ashfield, the Safer Streets project will fund fixed and re-deployable CCTV and ANPR cameras, and the development of a Safe Space Accreditation scheme for local businesses. This will be supported with 4G or WIFI CCTV and staff training to help firms respond to women who need a place of refuge if they are feeling vulnerable.
In addition, the town will benefit from improved street lighting and regular days of action to improve the local environment alongside high-visibility police patrols.
Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield, said: “This is fantastic news and the result of hard work from Commissioner Henry supported by myself in lobbying the Home Secretary. I will continue to push force extra resources to make our area safer and this is being made easier by having a PCC that puts Ashfield front and centre.”
Worksop South will benefit from fixed CCTV, additional operators to monitor them, ANPR cameras, new street lighting, environmental improvements and safety awareness training for schoolgirls and more.
Nationally, the Government is allocating £25m to PCCs across England and Wales to tackle street safety and reduce violence against women and girls in public spaces.
Crimes which take place in public places such as sexual harassment disproportionately affect women, which is why this latest investment largely focuses on making spaces safer for women and girls.
Since its inception, the Government has committed £70 million to the Safer Streets Fund to support local areas across England and Wales to introduce initiatives aimed at stopping offences happening in the first place.
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Posted on Monday 4th October 2021