FAQs

Safer Streets is a Home Office grant fund that supports police forces to tackle neighbourhood crime.

The funding can be used on a variety of interventions, including home security improvements, increased street lighting, additional CCTV cameras, covert tactics to prevent neighbourhood crime and diversionary measures to prevent anti-social behaviour (ASB).

We’ve used some of the funding we’ve been given to install home security measures in Rhymney and Pillgwenlly, deliver crime prevention packs (which have included SmartWater property marking kits), install additional streetlights and CCTV cameras and introduce educational programmes to increase the safety of women and girls in Gwent.

Next up? We’re currently planning our next project, which will see us working with partners to prevent anti-social behaviour in six areas in Gwent.

We work with the police and crime commissioner for Gwent as well as the five local authorities across the region. We also work with housing associations and contractors for the installation of home security devices, and, on previous projects, we’ve worked with grass roots organisations to fund and deliver local initiatives.

We want to make sure we’re helping our communities in the best way possible.

During each Safer Streets project, we’ve spoken to residents to understand who would benefit the most from items such as CCTV doorbells and security lighting. These have been given to households that have been burgled in the past or those who need additional security.

We have given out free home and vehicle security packs containing window alert alarms, lighting timers and personal attack alarms, and we have registered hundreds of households with SmartWater so their valuable property is protected.

We have analysed crime data and have also spoken to our partners in local authorities and housing associations to ensure we reach the right people, and, over the coming months, we will be speaking to those who will become eligible under the next round of funding.

Before delivering each project, we host drop-in sessions for the public, where they can meet officers and find out what the project will do for their area.

We have also worked with local authorities to really understand the problems faced by people across Gwent. They have spoken to residents, businesses and others in the community and have identified a range of activities to tackle anti-social behaviour and reduce crime.

Up to now, the funding we’ve received has been granted to help tackle neighbourhood crime in the following areas: Pillgwenlly, Rhymney, Abergavenny, Alway in Newport, Blackwood, Brynmawr, Caldicot, Cwmbran and Tredegar.

But, wherever you live in Gwent, we’re here to support you. The We Don’t Buy Crime team is our specialist team dedicated to tackling theft, burglary, robbery and vehicle crime throughout Gwent. If you’d like more information on their work, visit Safer neighbourhoods | Gwent Police.

We’ll continue to act on any information you give us about any crime in your area – so, please call 101, or 999 in an emergency.

Our next project focuses on tackling ASB and neighbourhood crime in Alway in Newport, Blackwood, Brynmawr, Caldicot, Cwmbran and Tredegar.

The project will run from August 2022 until September 2023, and, during this period, we’ll be delivering a wide range of measures throughout these six areas.

We'll release further details on our social media channels in the months ahead to let people know where and when this work will take place. In the meantime, if you’d like any further information please get in touch with the team: [email protected]

We know that becoming a victim of crime is stressful and upsetting. We don’t want it to happen to you, so we’re using preventative measures to stop it happening.

If you’ve already been affected by theft, robbery, burglary or vehicle crime, the We Don’t Buy Crime team will help to stop it happening again.

We know that, statistically, offenders tend to commit crime in an area they have already targeted.

This work will help stop that happening to you.

We’re using tried and tested methods to reduce crime and make these areas less attractive to criminals.

We know that improving household security puts offenders off committing crime in that particular neighbourhood.

Better security and more CCTV can also help reduce crime in these areas in the long term.

Neighbourhood crimes like burglary and theft hit local communities hard.

A rise in other types of crime also tends to happen in areas where neighbourhood crime is high.

We know that more security for homes and businesses and extra CCTV are very effective in preventing crime.

Preventing crime happening in the first place is better for communities. By targeting and preventing neighbourhood crime, we can free up police time to focus on other crimes and protect vulnerable people in Gwent.