Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews has secured an extra £50,000 from the Home Office to expand a safety scheme giving residents access to free home and vehicle security.
The PCC submitted an additional bid to the Home Office’s Safer Streets Fund to boost the safety work already underway as part of the Safer Streets 2 project and has been awarded £50k - on top of the £432k already earmarked for the county.
Hundreds of homes in the town centres of Castle Donington, Hinckley, Lutterworth and Melton Mowbray have already received free security upgrades as part of the partnership between the PCC and Harborough District Council, Leicestershire Police, North West Leicestershire District Council, Melton Borough Council and Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council.
These areas were identified as having a disproportionately higher risk of street crime and qualified for the Home Office’s scheme.
The new funding will see an extra £40k invested in vehicle security packages for up to 465 households in Hinckley, Lutterworth and Castle Donington which have already had their homes secured.
Residents will be offered items such as steering locks and Faraday Pouch signal blockers to prevent data being altered and protect against car theft, advanced bike locks and tracking/marking kits and Disk Locks/Faraday Pouches for motorbikes.
In addition, £10k will be invested in providing additional security upgrades at 50 extra homes’ in the Castle Donington area following a hugely successful take-up by residents in the area.
Commenting on the extra funding, Mr Matthews said: “I am delighted our bid has been successful and that Safer Streets 2 will benefit even more people than we originally intended.
“Since the launch of this initiative, hundreds of homes have received free security upgrades to keep the burglars at bay and we know from feedback this has had a hugely positive impact on confidence and helped reduce the fear of crime.
“Every burglary we prevent protects a resident from experiencing the emotional and psychological impact of having their home and privacy violated and this is hugely motivating for the whole team.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our local authority partners, Leicestershire Police and 24-7 Locks Ltd for their hard work and dedication in rolling out this scheme so rapidly. This additional funding is testament to their determination to work swiftly and efficiently to maximise the number of people who can benefit from these fantastic offers.”
The funding will ensure windows and doors in the target areas are secure and where appropriate, that timer switches are installed to provide indoor lighting during non-occupancy.
It will also deliver outside lighting solutions to make it more difficult for burglars to commit crimes undetected in darkness.
Working with security partner 24-7 Locks Ltd, the PCC and partners are funding risk assessments at more than 1,150 homes while also funding the removal of graffiti in Hinckley and increasing engagement with residents.
Communities are also benefitting from the installation of new police automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and additional CCTV as well as enhanced street lighting in two key streets, and additional radios to expand the radio link scheme in the Melton and Hinckley areas.
The Government’s Safer Streets Fund aims to stop offences that blight communities and cause misery to victims.
All households within the eligibility catchment area will be informed by post. Residents are urged to call the number provided to arrange a booking slot.
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