Swindon to get more than £400,000 to tackle neighbourhood crime

The Government has today announced Swindon will receive £432,000 to address neighbourhood crime such as burglary, vehicle theft and robbery following a successful bid led by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Wiltshire and Swindon.

The county has been identified as one of 40 areas across England and Wales who will receive funding from the £18 million Safer Streets Fund to deal with neighbourhood crime.

The money, allocated to the OPCC from the Government’s Safer Streets Fund, will go towards measures proven to cut crime, including simple changes to the design of streets such as locked gates around alleyways, increased street-lighting and the installation of CCTV.   

Kieran Kilgallen, OPCC Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to have secured funding of more than £400,000 from the Safer Streets Fund, which will support the priorities outlined in the current police and crime plan to prevent crime and keep people safe.

“We will be working closely with Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Police to ensure this funding goes directly to tackling neighbourhood crime and making our communities safer. As part of our bid, we will be looking at many areas of improvement such as equipping frontline workers with bodycams as well as additional training, CCTV, improved lighting and ANPR cameras.

“I am confident this funding will make a real difference to the areas outlined in Swindon and look forward to seeing the plans progress.”

The successful bid, in partnership with Swindon Borough Council, will see the funding spent in the shopping area in Swindon town centre, the Railway Village and the area in Rodbourne including residential retail and office areas following conversion in recent years from the Old Railway works which is connected through the Bristol Street Tunnel which runs underneath the main railway line in Swindon.

A Swindon Borough Council spokesperson said: “Swindon remains a safe place to live and visit but any opportunity to make our streets safer is welcome. This bid was supported by Swindon’s Community Safety Partnership, which recognises the need not only to keep people safe but for people to feel safe. Measures such as improved lighting will be of great benefit in that respect.

“The Council and its partners will continue to look at any opportunity to keep Swindon residents and visitors safe.

“Today saw the launch of a new bidding opportunity through the Safety Streets Fund to help reduce crimes related to violence against women and girls, which will be another opportunity to help keep Swindon safe.”

Following a competitive process to secure the funding in which OPCCs and local authorities had to submit bids for local initiatives the Home Office said that they were ‘impressed’ by our joint bid and that it ‘effectively demonstrated the analysis and drivers of the problem in your chosen area and identified a suitable response to tackling the issues’.