Communities across East Cambridgeshire are tackling local issues that matter to local people thanks to major investment by Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston. 

Since the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough PCC announced a £730k funding boost for the county’s six Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs), a raft of prevention measures has been rolled out to deliver stronger action against the public’s top priorities. 

The investment has not only stepped up the response to local issues such as anti-social behaviour (ASB), fly-tipping and road safety across the county, it is also helping to divert young people away from offending in the first place and preventing nuisance behaviour escalating into more serious crime. 

CSPs are made up of local partners including council, police, fire and community representatives who work together to address local issues that the police are unable to solve alone. 

Some of the Commissioner’s funding has paid for problem-solving coordinators for three years to work with communities and partners to resolve issues and help the PCC meet the priorities set out in his police and crime plan. 

These efforts are boosted by the PCC’s safer communities fund which allows CSPs to apply for a grant of up to £5k for initiatives that aim to alleviate common community problems including ASB, road safety, bike theft and fly-tipping. 

In East Cambridgeshire, the CSP applied for funding from the Commissioner’s Youth Fund and Safer Communities Fund to deliver three Youth Fusion events in Soham, Bottisham and Littleport during the summer holidays. 

The free events, which were strongly focused on safety, were an opportunity for children and young people to engage with local clubs and agencies to find out what activities are going on in their area. 

Both police and CSP representatives attended, and sessions covered a range of youth-related concerns including knife crime, county lines and cybercrime/bullying. Young people were also offering security marking for cycles and scooters and a bike maintenance company offered free basic repairs. Other activities including a bouncy castle, climbing wall and sports activities. 

Mr Preston said: “The success of this project speaks for itself and is just a snapshot of the positive work underway by our CSPs to respond effectively to the persistent problems that cause misery for residents.  

“The police cannot tackle these issues alone, and this investment recognises that partnership working is crucial to delivering a meaningful impact on public safety.  

“When communities stand united against crime and ASB, the solutions are much easier to identify and implement and deliver maximum value.” 

Mr Preston added: “I am grateful to all our CSPs and wider community partners for embracing this opportunity and working harder than ever to protect local people respond swiftly to the issues that cause them harm.  

“The challenge now is to keep up the good work and build on the foundations of this positive start to achieve our longer-term ambitions.” 

To contact your local CSP visit: East Cambridgeshire CSP