Commissioner given £500,000 to crack down on crime in village where residents feel unsafe
Dr Alan Billings said the goal was to make people feel safer in the village.
THE POLICE and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire has been awarded more than £500,000 by the Government for work to drive down burglary and theft in a Doncaster village.
Dr Alan Billings will use the money from a £25m Home Office fund to continue efforts to crack down on crime in Hexthorpe, which has been identified as a hotspot area.
He said: “This is good news and a very significant amount of money for Doncaster. The funding will go some way in combatting house burglary and other crimes in Hexthorpe, making the streets safer and helping people feel more comfortable in their own community.”
The funding will be used to provide better CCTV and improve the look of the area by refurbishing communal spaces. There will also be improved street lighting.
Dr Billings said: “The funding application was made after reviewing police data and following feedback from the community in Hexthorpe. They were asked what would make them feel safer and overwhelmingly people said that they wanted to feel ownership and pride in their community. With this in mind, we applied for the funding and were successful in our bid.”
He said his office would now work with South Yorkshire Police and the local authority to ensure that the community saw the results of the money awarded.
The “significant and muchneeded funding” was welcomed by Coun Glyn Jones, Deputy Mayor of Doncaster Council.
“For too long now, residents have felt unsafe and perhaps intimidated in and around their homes,” he said.
“As well as the materialistic benefits like improved street lighting and CCTV cameras, we are hopeful that, ultimately, the locals feel a sense of ownership and pride in their area.”