Warwickshire gets £249,000 to improve women's safety in public
It comes as part of the Government's Safer Streets Fund
Warwickshire Police have secured £249,000 in funding to help make streets in the area safer for women.
The news comes after Warwickshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) secured Government funding for a programme to prevent domestic abuse and to improve behaviour in the community.
A statement from Warwickshire's PCC said the additional funding will improve the safety of public areas that women identified as feeling unsafe in when surveyed earlier this year.
The sum is part of the Government's Safer Streets Fund, and has been awarded to Warwickshire Police, County Council and other local community services to help improve public safety.
The funding will be invested in educational programmes for local residents to reduce the fear of crime and to make sure communities coordinate to create safer spaces.
Mobile CCTV cameras and improved visibility of unsafe public areas are also among the range of options that the funding will allow for.
Announcing the funding, Commissioner Seccombe said: “I’m absolutely committed to tackling the issue of violence against women and girls."
"Together with the police, Warwickshire County Council, probation and other local authority partners, I have been working to secure extra funding to help ensure that public spaces in the county are safe and feel safe."
At the beginning of September, Warwickshire Police announced their support for an online tool launched by the Government which women could use to pinpoint unsafe areas across the country.
The tool, called StreetSafe, allows women to drop markers in places ranging from poorly lit alleyways to areas where they had been publicly harassed.
The information is sent to police so they can identify and improve unsafe areas for women in local communities by installing more CCTV, street lighting, and by introducing regular evening patrols.