Safer Homes Fund

Release Date: October 2009

The government has allocated £5m to make more than 45,000 homes more secure.

More than 45,000 homes will have their security improved after a cash injection of nearly £5m from the government to provide practical measures and advice to make people in 45,000 homes across 93 priority areas in the country feel more secure by 2010.

The areas chosen are those where people are less likely to have good home security, such as older people and people on low incomes. The cash, which comes from the Safer Homes Fund, has been awarded so far to 66 voluntary and community projects, who bid for the grants. These groups will use the money to install security devices, raise awareness in the community and run security checks of homes that are considered at risk.

For the southwest, Safe Partnership is the organisation awarded the grant. Formed in 1987, Safe Partnership is a national charity that provides practical and immediate home security to victims of crimes and those in fear of crime that compromise the security of their homes. The charity achieves this by working with Local Authorities, Crime and Disorder reduction Partnerships and Police to establish reactive and proactive home security and safety schemes locally.

The fund is just one initiative the government has implemented as part of a wider range of measures introduced to combat burglary. This includes tougher enforcement by police and more public education. These grants will help make the homes of hundreds of people more secure and show them the simple steps they can take to protect themselves.

Although Torbay is not a high crime area, statistics show that houses with no security are ten times more likely to be burgled than those with simple security measures*. This is because the majority of burglaries that take place are opportunistic and the visible deterrent that is a home security system is often enough to put off most potentail perpetrators.

The initiative is just one part of a wider strategy which includes providing more money and resources to 35 areas to tackle burglary and robbery by cracking down on known offenders. The Police and Safer Communities Torbay work closely together to ensure that crime prevention information is communicated to the public allocation of additional funding to help secure homes.

Louisa Aiton, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Community Engagement comments; “We are really pleased to be one of the beneficiaries of the moneys from the Safer Homes Fund. We strive to ensure that Torbay remains a safe place to live and this pot of money will only add to the hard work that is already being undertaken by the Police and Fire services.The aim is to help people feel safer and more informed on how to keep themselves safe and their properties secure as well as prompting them to engage in their local communities and look out for one another. This is an opportunity for local residents to benefit from a free service, which they otherwise might not be able to afford."

*home office report, Crime in England and Wales 2007/08

ENDS

• SHF Letter
  Letter to Torbay residents about the grant allocated to Torbay from the Safer Homes Fund.
  Last updated: 30/04/2010 (63 KB)