Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Andrew Snowden, has opened the first part of his Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund (SLNF) paid for, in part, by money seized from criminals. The Fund will support community projects and innovative neighbourhood schemes that support his priority to fight crime.
The Community Fund strand of the SLNF will be the first to launch and will see grants of between £1k and £10k provided to local projects that help deliver the five key priorities in the Police and Crime Plan. This could be for equipment, infrastructure, community engagement, pilot projects and other ideas and schemes that ultimately make people safer.
The delivery of this will be supported in part through cash seized from criminals as part of police operations, with funding being prioritised to address issues in crime and anti-social behaviour hot spots.
This will be the first of three streams that the Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund will invest into the county as the Commissioner leads the fight against crime.
Launching later this year will also be a dedicated fund supporting innovative ideas from police officers and staff to take the fight to criminals, and larger ‘Fighting Crime’ Grants that will support bigger, match-funded projects which make a real, measurable difference to policing and criminal justice.
Andrew Snowden, Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire said:
“I’m delighted to be able to launch the first part of my Safer Lancashire Neighbourhoods Fund, as we take the ill-gotten gains from criminals and invest it into our local neighbourhoods to prevent and deter crime. Whilst my Police and Crime Plan rightly focuses on enforcement and taking the fight to criminals, delivering my priorities cannot be done through arrests alone.
“It will fund initiatives, pilots and infrastructure that clearly demonstrate they are addressing identified issues in hotspot areas and delivering on mine and the publics key priorities. This is an important way in which I can support local people and neighbourhoods to play their part, alongside the police, in making their area safer.
“The Fund will support projects, of different sizes and scope, to make a difference in getting tough on anti-social behaviour, tackling dangerous driving, and my other priorities. With further investment through my ‘Fighting Crime Grants’ and the Innovation Fund to come, I am looking forward to seeing first-hand projects that we invest in, making a positive difference for the overwhelming majority of law-abiding citizens in Lancashire.
“It is a poetic irony that by getting tougher on asset seizures and hitting criminals where it hurts, in their pockets, we are going to be able to increase the investment back into the communities they have hurt to make them more resilient to crime and safer for the people they have impacted.
“As I continue to lead the fight against crime I will continue to work closely with the force and partners across Lancashire to deliver my Police and Crime Plan and ensure that investment into making people safer delivers value for money and, crucially, positive results that make a lasting difference.”
