Community Cashback

Community Cashback is a new scheme in England and Wales which gives local people a say in how £4million of recovered criminal assets (for example confiscated cash or property) should be spent in their communities.  You can read the background information of the scheme, and our key local dates, below.

The seven successful local projects

Torbay Mobile CCTV: £10,000 (Torbay)
“Having attended a 'you said we did event' we discussed the issue, of ongoing ASB and criminal damage across Torbay, particularly in areas not covered by CCTV, most notably in parks and beaches. The police and the ASB team told us about all the work they have done to try and solve the problem, but the key issue was lack of good evidence and information about who and when the crimes and behaviour is being committed. It is usually late at night, and people either do not witness the crimes happening, or do not feel safe trying to identify who is committing the crimes. The presence of the van will either deter the people behaving this way or the technology would provide the evidence we need to take enforcement action.”  The project is match funded and will be managed by Safer Communities Torbay.

Blitz: £20,000 (Devon and Cornwall)
“This innovative Project, aimed at 13-14 yr olds, uses live theatre to engage young people demonstrating some hard hitting facts about the consequences of drinking irresponsibly. Followed by a 'Jerry Springer' style, interactive workshop the facilitator cleverly gets across messages about self awareness & health issues, respecting others and the community. Workshops are also given by Police regarding the consequences in law of drinking alcohol, linked with ASB and criminal behaviour also the identification and consequences of tacking illegal substances. A NHS workshop on sexual health and relationships. A fire service workshop focusing on consequences of ones actions, peer pressure issues and making the right choices. Project Aims: Reduce underage drinking and ASB, teenage pregnancy, promote good health and good citizenship. Evaluation: student & teacher feedback and tracking PACT issues”.

Cost is £1000 per school. There are 100 state secondary schools in Devon and Cornwall which would equate to £100,000. It was agreed that a proportionate amount would be bid for at the equivalent of 200 per school. This would then be provided to the Community Safety Partnerships to target appropriately.
Devon (including Exeter) = £7,400
Plymouth = £4,000
Cornwall = £6,200
Torbay = £2,400

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Grow@Jigsaw: £6,793 (North Devon)
“The project will create a social enterprise to engage local people in growing and marketing local produce. The growing would be centred on commercial greenhouses at Victoria Park, Bideford, leased from Torridge District Council. The project will engage with marginalised groups from Probation, Youth Offending, Learning Disability, Mental Health, local schools and people recovering from substance abuse. Beneficiaries will have the chance to develop their skills through education training and experience in growing and gardening and to understand and promote the links between food and healthy lifestyles.
Community Projects North Devon run the successful Jigsaw Project in Barnstaple and have committed capital expenditure to re-glaze one greenhouses on site.  This bid is to reglaze the remaining two greenhouses and purchase an automatic watering system, creating further capacity for the project and service users”.

Further discussions with the project led to an agreement that whilst the full amount could not be funded a sum of £6,793 could be used constructively.

Community Speed Watch: £30,000 (Devon and Cornwall)
“Speeding vehicles and anti social driving are the most prevalent community concern throughout Devon and Cornwall. A project has been developed that empowers local communities to safely monitor vehicle speeds and in partnership with the police educate drivers.  Teams of volunteers monitor traffic with specialist equipment at key locations. A pilot of the project has been shown to reduce speeds and anti social driving and also have a positive impact on vehicle collisions. These problems have existed for numerous years and the communities have until now been powerless to tackle them”.

Bungalow Youth Project: £8,250 (Buckfastleigh)
“The Bungalow’s aim is to reduce youth crime due to boredom, marginalization and disaffection by providing a focalpoint for young people in close proximity to the Skate Park and town centre. It aims to be a warm, safe, social environment, supervised by trained staff with the availability of hot and cold food, activities and projects to gain and develop skills, based on Devon County Council Youth Work Standards and Curriculum and informal education with emphasis on sexual health, drugs and alcohol”.  This bid will support the renovation and equipment for the youth club.

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St Ives Boxing Club: £9,957 (Cornwall)
“Approximately 18 months ago St Ives residents voted on community priorities within the town [as part of the Partners and Communitees Together Scheme]. The Number 1 problem was voted to be Anti-Social Behaviour - mainly involving local youths. As a result of the community identifying this problem the local Police Neighbourhood Team spoke to the youths themselves and asked them what interested them and how the Police could assist them in giving them direction and an interest. The formulation of a Boxing Club is what the youths wanted and as such the Police worked with local people in order to set up a club as a trial. The Club has now become affiliated with The Amateur Boxing Association of England and has over 80 members [ranging from 6 years to 50 years]. The Club encourages members to become fit, well behaved, focus sport and stay clear of alcohol and drugs. Due the popularity of the club and the intention to train several evenings a week, the School is no longer a viable building”.

“The cost of the refurbishment to the building is £9,957. The club has been running on a temporary basis for approximately 12 months and the money will be required to make it a permanent feature for the local youths. Over the last 12 months anti-social behaviour has dropped in the town and it has been recognised that the boxing club has played a part in this. As Local police Officers also assist with the youths training it has improved relationships between the local youths and the Police”.

Break: £5,000 (Plymouth)
“BREAK a breakdance workshop has been set up by the Mutley Policing Team to break barriers between the force and the areas youth. It is free to attend and aimed at all ages. Youth capture is wide and diverse. Sessions regularly see upwards of 70+ youths. Performances let the community recognise the value of young people. BREAK is reducing anti-social behaviour by providing a safe and healthy activity to be involved with.  The bid is for “a dedicated dance crew, prepared to commit by having things like a uniform making them instantly identifiable and stand out proud as role models. The youths will form a strong bond and have a sense of unity they will be able to train their peers bringing on future groups to sustain the project”.
 

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Background Information 

In Devon and Cornwall we have the potential to bid for up to £95,000 and have recently finished a two week submission period where members of the public were able to suggest community projects that met the following basic criteria:

  1. The projects should be related to nuisance, anti-social or criminal behaviour or its impact on the community
  2. Projects could focus on one or several neighbourhoods
  3. Projects should be community focused and make a noticeable difference on the community
  4. Projects must demonstrate value for money, be able to be delivered quickly and their impact should be clearly evaluated
  5. Outcomes must be visible to the community
     

We received over 100 suggestions.  These were screened and 96 projects were put to the public for them to 'Have Your Say'.  A seven day period allowed anyone to indicate which project they thought should be supported.  This period has now ended and we've had 4,318 indications of preference.

Key Dates

2359 on Sunday 19 July 2009 Closing date for submissions of projects
1100 on Monday 20 July 2009 Public voting period opens
0900 on Monday 27 July 2009 Public voting period closes
28 - 31 July 2009 Multi agency panel consider projects with highest number of votes
3 August 2009 List of Devon and Cornwall Criminal Justice Board 'preferred projects' announced here
7 August 2009 Bid for successful project(s) submitted to national panel by LCJB
w/c 24 August 2009 National Team inform Devon and Cornwall Criminal Justice Board of decisions
31 August 2009 Target date for release of funds

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