crime prevention grant guide

Crime Prevention Grants - Guide for Members and Applicants

Introduction The grant making process Qualifying crime prevention initiatives Types of initatives supported Frequently asked questions

Introduction

Hampshire Police Authority has been providing grants to organisations in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight since 1994, initially through the now-redundant Crime Prevention Committee. The committee was among the first of its type in the country to have the ability to provide financial assistance to crime prevention initiatives and has since been emulated elsewhere.

The Authority has always believed that community engagement and involvement are essential for communities to be safe and feel safe. By empowering communities through the provision of funding to solve problems and improve the quality of life in their area, real community cohesion and long-term sustainable solutions can be achieved.

Since its inception, the Authority has made more than 600 grants to nearly 500 organisations (as at the end of 2009). For every £1 provided by the Authority, at least a further £10 will have been provided by partner organisations (including the provisions of services in kind), to support these initiatives.

The grant scheme works in support of the following principles, aims and objectives:

To support local partnerships, collaborative working and shared responsibility for the furtherance of crime preventative initiatives. To improve community cohesion and quality of life for residents across the two counties on the basis that crime is a matter for everyone, not just the police.
To provide financial support to organisations or individuals, both within the voluntary and statutory sectors, for initiatives that could have a significant impact on crime prevention or crime reduction at local level or on a countywide basis.
To demonstrate best practice by encouraging the take up of exemplary crime prevention initiatives in other parts of the two counties.
To assist the Authority in discharging its statutory duties and acting upon best practice guidance, including the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, in particular section 17; the Police Act 1996 and Police and Justice Act 2006; the Children Act 2004 and the ‘every child matters’ agenda; Hampshire Police Authority’s race, disability and gender equality schemes; and the community cohesion and Respect agendas.
To assist in delivering the Hampshire Police Authority and Hampshire Constabulary local policing plan and to support local crime and disorder reduction partnership work and national policing priorities.

The grant-making process

The Community Engagement Committee oversees the grant making processes. It meets four times a year, but the majority of grants are dealt with by the Chair of the Committee and the Chief Executive of the Authority on behalf of the committee. They are aided by the recommendations of the consultant to the committee in liaison with partner agencies. In some cases, the Chief Executive and Chair will refer a grant for full consideration by the committee at its next meeting.

The budget is set at the beginning of financial year and the level of the normal maximum grant is currently £3,000, based upon receiving 40 to 60 successful applications each year.

Qualifying crime prevention initiatives

In delivering its responsibilities as outlined above, the Authority has always chosen to interpret the definition of crime widely to look beyond notifiable offences. This is to include anti-social or unruly behaviour and policing issues that adversely affect quality of life.

Wherever possible, the Authority will aim to achieve a balance between the competing needs of different areas.

Applicants must demonstrate how the crime prevention initiative will be managed and how it will be monitored and evaluated to meet its aims and objectives.

They will also be asked to complete a declaration as to their own responsibilities in relation to the use of any funds provided by the Authority. This is included as part of the application form.

Types of initiatives supported

These fall broadly into six categories (see below), which may overlap in places because of the nature of the problems they seek to tackle and the nature of the groups of people they seek to support.

Multi-agency initiatives designed to protect property and all potential victims including public reassurance
These are perhaps the more traditional crime prevention areas that centre on removing opportunities for crime by designing it out and dealing with personal safety and domestic violence. Some initiatives in this category aim to mitigate the effects of crime on victims, prevent repeat victimisation, reduce the fear of crime, increase public reassurance, reduce community tensions and enhance community cohesion.

In relation to the core funding of neighbourhood watch and victim support schemes, grants are generally only made to the countywide umbrella organisations supporting these initiatives rather than being made to individual branches or schemes.

Multi-agency projects designed to protect city, town and village centres or other vulnerable premises
The past two decades have seen a massive growth in closed circuit television (CCTV), both in the private and public sectors. Such schemes are capable of achieving tremendous results in reducing local street crime and nuisance, reducing retail crime and ensuring a safe, welcoming environment for shoppers, residents and visitors.

Some CCTV schemes cost many hundreds of thousands of pounds to install and similar amounts per annum to run. In other cases, with improved technology, smaller schemes costing less than £10,000 can achieve the same results for vulnerable isolated premises or where no larger scheme exits.

Applicants for financial assistance towards CCTV products are required to complete a separate CCTV questionnaire and contact their local police Crime Prevention Officer. Details of how to do this are included in the section ‘Starting the Application Process’.

Youth diversionary projects
Many applications fall within this category and this is perhaps one of the most difficult areas for the Committee to consider when allocating limited funds. All work with young people in providing opportunities for leisure, employment and recreation have a diversionary element and therefore a crime prevention dimension.

Diversionary projects target young people who are at risk of offending, seeking to divert them away from crime by improving their self-esteem, their inter-personal skills and encourage them to become involved in a variety of activities that give them the opportunity to achieve and develop more positive lifestyles. Included in this category are projects to provide opportunities for young people in sport, leisure, outdoor activities and in the work and training fields as an alternative to simply ‘hanging around on the streets’.

While recognising the value of all youth projects in reducing the risk of young people becoming involved in crime or other anti-social behaviour, the Committee will seek to target its limited funds towards those projects that can show they are primarily working with young people who:

are involved in crime or at grave risk of becoming so;
have poor school attendance records;
are disruptive at home, at school or in the community; or,
have been identified as being disadvantaged.

In addition, the Committee will consider applications from initiatives where there is a public perception, or crime figures or other indicators that suggest high levels of crime or anti-social behaviour in any particular area committed by young people.

Multi-agency initiatives designed to divert habitual or high-risk offenders
The Committee will consider applications for projects designed to help and support existing habitual offenders, particularly those where there is a high risk of re-offending, perhaps over many years.

Multi-agency youth diversionary projects that carry either a strong anti-substance message or anti-crime message and involve large numbers of people
The Committee has long recognised the value of education and information for young people to help them make informed choices. The Committee has been able to support many programmes that reinforce these principles. Perhaps the most notable of which are Global Rock Challenge and the ‘Say No and Phone’ (SNAP) campaign, plus many other small initiatives that are in local schools and youth groups.

Other multi-agency initiatives that have a strong crime prevention dimension
In developing its policy and practice, the Committee seeks to remain flexible and free from unnecessary constraints, whilst at the same time maintaining a value-for-money approach. This is perhaps a catch-all category providing the Committee with an opportunity to support a particular initiative, provided that the essential ingredients are present, namely the multi-agency nature of the initiative and a strong crime prevention dimension.

Frequently asked questions

Who can apply?
Anyone. Any group or individual may apply for financial assistance from the Authority. This includes groups or individuals within the statutory or voluntary sector who are part of a project that meets the criteria outlined above. In particular applicants must evidence how the initiative will prevent or reduce crime. From time to time applications will be made to the Authority from commercial organisations. In such cases, the Community Engagement Committee must be satisfied that the major beneficiary is for public interest rather than private gain.

Do I have to have all my funding in place before I can apply?
No. In many cases the Authority has been the first to provide financial support for an initiative that they think is worthwhile. At the time of application it will, however, be expected that you have taken or considered the necessary steps to put the remainder of the funding in place. Applicants will be expected to raise at least 50% of the necessary resources from other partners.

How long does the promise of financial support last?
The promise of financial support will normally last for 12 months from the date of the approval of the grant.

Do I have to provide feedback?
Yes. If your application is approved, a date will be set by which you must provide feedback on your progress and achievements. This feedback can take the form of a letter but must contain sufficient monitoring and evaluation information. It is acknowledged that assessing whether a crime prevention initiative has been successful can be a complicated and expensive process. Such initiatives tend to have complex objectives and achieve them sometimes in indirect ways.

For the Authority, monitoring is the process of checking whether an initiative is doing what it originally planned to do and measuring the input processes that were outlined in the original application. It is a relatively simple process of seeing what and how things were done against the benchmark or the application. In many cases, minor changes or amendments are acceptable but applicants must report significant changes to the Consultant to the Committee.

Evaluation is the process of checking whether the strategies that were employed achieved their intended outcomes, either in the long or short term. You will be required to provide evidence of the outcomes in crime prevention terms.

Can I apply to the Authority for financial assistance more than once?
Yes, but only in certain circumstances. The promise of financial assistance from the Authority is based upon the work you actually intend to carry out and is initiative-based rather than organisationally-based. Some organisations have successfully applied on different occasions for varying aspects of their work, including the extension of existing initiatives either geographically or in terms of availability and for expanding capacity. It should however be noted that with the limited funds available priority is normally given to new projects.

Can financial assistance from the Authority be used towards salary costs?
Yes. Although a considerable amount of crime prevention work is delivered by the voluntary sector, it is recognised that paid professionals are crucial to the planning, organisation and delivery of many projects.

How do I start the application process?
Simply by contacting Hampshire Police Authority by telephone (01962 871595) or email with a brief outline of your project. You will then be put in touch with the Consultant to the Committee who will discuss your application with you. If it meets the criteria of the scheme, the appropriate application form will be forwarded to you electronically for completion by an agreed date. Advice can be obtained at any stage during your application process by contacting the Consultant to the Committee on 01962 871595 or from your local police Crime Prevention Officer on 0845 045 4545. Information on many types of crime prevention initiatives is available by visiting the Home Office website or the national crime reduction website and following the links provided.

How long before I find out if I have received a grant?

The Authority will aim to notify you of its decision within a month of the Consultant to the Committee receiving a satisfactory application. If an application is referred to the Community Engagement Committee for decision, this process will take longer.