An independent evaluation has been carried out on the Safer Streets Round 1 funding for which interventions had been implemented between July 2020 and June 2021.

Safer Streets funding has had minimal impact on acquisitive crime and ASB but a significant impact on trust and confidence, preliminary findings have found.

The Home Office first announced the programme in October 2019 – and £25m was made available for PCCs to bid for. The brief was interventions aimed at preventing acquisitive crime and burglary using a problem-solving approach.

Key outcome measures had been defined as:

• Impact on acquisitive crime
• Impact on other types of crime and disorder
• Effect on public perceptions of safety, relating to crime and policing

Across 52 bid areas, the interventions delivered including 29 bids for streetlights, 31 for alleygates, 7 for ANPR cameras and 36 for CCTV.

However, an independent evaluation on the first round of Safer Streets funding has now found “minimal evidence” of any immediate impact on acquisitive crime.

The conclusion was drawn from both survey data  (a baseline and a follow up) and the preliminary analysis of reported acquisitive crimes or burglaries.

Impact findings remain preliminary, and the report has said they are not conclusive, in part due to delays in implementation and the Covid pandemic – further impact analysis is planned with a longer follow-up period. Most areas were still implementing initiatives when follow up surveys were collected for this analysis.

The survey-based analysis for ASB was on similar levels. Although there was a reduction in the chances of residents experiencing certain types of ASB (vagrancy and begging, homelessness) – these types were not strongly linked to the programme and most measures had “no significant impact”.

The report suggests the finding is due an “unknown interaction” between the programme and government support for homelessness during the pandemic.

That said, the programme was found to improve trust and confidence within local policing. Residents were seven percentage points more likely to think that local police were doing a “good” or “excellent” job, and nine percentage points less likely to be “fairly” or “very worried” about being mugged or robbed.  

Meanwhile, one third of those asked had seen or heard about police or local council actions to tackle crime and ASB – 74% could identify what it was about.

Kantar Public, who carried out the evaluation, concluded that the first round of the Safer Streets funding has brought “several substantial benefits” to local forces.

Key learning points for the Home Office have been identified including the need to consider the timing of the bid launch and ensuring PCC areas can access guidance and best practice on the sustainability of interventions, community engagement and calculating programme costs.

To date, the fund has supported 270 projects and £120m has been handed out across four rounds of the fund.

Projects include in Humberside where improved communal entrances in flats are helping to prevent drug dealing, and new storage units are stopping bike and motorbike theft.  In Northampton, funding has supported improvements to the security of thousands of homes that were vulnerable to burglary, with alleyway gates installed to prevent an easy escape for offenders.

Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire, Chris Philp, said: "Our local communities are the beating hearts of the UK, and I want our streets to be safe for everyone to go about their daily lives without fear inflicted on them by criminals.

"Increasing public safety in our communities, and restoring people’s confidence in the police and pride in where they live, is an absolute priority.

"This funding gives local people the power to make real changes in their area, as well as driving investment in businesses and jobs." 

Safer Streets Fund Round One allocations: