Alok Sharma has welcomed the announcement that Thames Valley will receive £972,264 in extra funding as part of the Government’s £25 million Safer Streets Fund – delivering on a key Conservative manifesto commitment.

The Safer Streets Fund forms part of the Government’s concerted action to tackle crime, and aims to stop offences that blight communities and cause misery to victims from happening in the first place.

The extra funding will be aimed at improving security in areas particularly affected by acquisitive crimes such as burglary, vehicle theft and robbery.

These offences are the crimes that the public are most likely to encounter, and they are estimated to cost society billions of pounds every year.

The £972,264 of new funding will go towards measures proven to cut crime. These include simple changes to the design of streets such as locked gates around alleyways, increased street-lighting and the installation of CCTV.

The funding will also be used to train community wardens, deliver local crime prevention advice to residents and establish Neighbourhood Watch schemes.

Police and Crime Commissioners were invited to bid for a share of the £25 million Safer Streets Fund in January, with each project eligible for a grant of up to £550,000.

Bids were evaluated against a set criteria and bidders were asked to outline a plan to reduce crime within a local crime hotspot, demonstrating value for money, evidence of community engagement and long-term sustainability.

This additional funding comes alongside the Government’s commitment to recruit 20,000 additional police officers over the next three years, and the £1.1 billion funding boost for the policing system for 2020-2021.

Reading West MP, Alok Sharma, said: “I am delighted that Thames Valley has been awarded an additional £972,264 of funding as part of the Safer Streets Fund. This Government was elected on the promise to crack down on crime and make our streets safer, and we are delivering on that pledge.”