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One of the key roles of Police and Crime commissioners is commissioning projects, services, and activities geared towards promoting community safety, mitigating offending behaviour, and providing support for victims of crime, to help them cope and recover from their experiences.

During 2022/23, my office allocated almost £5.4 million in funding to fulfil these duties. A considerable portion of this budget was channelled to small-scale community charities and organisations, enabling us to offer support that aligns with the requirements of Surrey’s residents and fosters local resilience.

Whilst Surrey receives a fixed annual settlement from government to fund this local provision, staff in my office pursued additional funding throughout the year to extend our services, securing £2.4 million in the process.

This additional funding has allowed us to enhance the safety of women and girls through the provision of community safety initiatives, establish a local programme to address stalking and perpetrators of domestic abuse, and considerably increase the number of local Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors, thereby providing better assistance to the survivors of these horrific crimes.

A few key services funded by the PCC during 2022/23 include: 

• Universal support for all victims of crime: The Victim and Witness Care Unit, located at Guildford Police Station, offers support to victims of crime in their recovery process by developing personalised care plans. Upon reporting a crime, all victims in Surrey are referred to the Unit, and further communication is based on individual needs and vulnerability.
• Supporting victims of domestic abuse: Surrey domestic abuse services provide confidential and independent support, free of cost, to anyone affected by domestic abuse. Their staff not only offer immediate practical and emotional assistance, but also provide guidance on housing, safety planning, benefits, and the well-being of children impacted by domestic abuse. Additionally, they aid in accessing safe refuge accommodation.
• Supporting children and young people: A good proportion of our funding supports projects which help children and young people to lead safe and fulfilling lives and avoid harm. These include Active Surrey’s ‘Friday Night Projects’, which offer drop-in sessions for young people aged 11-18 who have had limited opportunity to take part in sport and physical activity before, as well as the ‘Step OUT to Step IN project’, which is a sports-based initiative for young people at risk of offending or engaged in anti-social behaviour.
• Reducing re-offending: We regularly award funding to reduce the risk of future offending behaviour. One such service to benefit is the Amber Foundation, which provides accommodation and support to transform the lives of young people aged 17-30. Their residential training programme works with marginalised young people to get their lives back on track and move on to sustainable and independent futures that are free from crime.
  
  

When it comes to the use of public money, I want the public to have confidence that our funding is allocated fairly, transparently and services provide good value for money. To support this, we continue to make available live funding data on our website, allowing the public to understand our key areas of investment and the organisations in receipt of funding. Longer term funding trends can also be found on our Data Hub.

See an up to date summary of our various funding streams Pano.

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