West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has given nearly £85,000 seized from criminals to Kirklees community groups.
Mark Burns-Williamson has now returned nearly £2m of money recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act back to the county since February 2014.
Twenty projects in Kirklees were awarded a total of £84,965.38 during the latest round of the PCC’s Safer Communities Fund.
Three projects in Calderdale were awarded £12,806, including £5,000 for Alpha House Calderdale Rapid Response which helps prison leavers or those referred via the criminal justice system or mental health services.
The total amount of money returned to community projects in West Yorkshire during this round of grants was £213,940.46 meaning Kirklees got a whopping 40% of that.
Mark said: “This is one of the biggest grant rounds the Safer Communities Fund has had to date and it’s a real honour to be able to give a boost to such worthy causes across West Yorkshire.
“To have such a good amount of money is also testament to the work of West Yorkshire Police and prosecutors in taking this ill-gotten money away from criminals, ensuring crime doesn’t pay in West Yorkshire.”
The highest grants were of £5,000 and in Kirklees these were awarded to five projects, including Kirklees-based community health provider Locala Community Partnerships’ outreach and prevention team.
Another project awarded £5,000 was Conscious Youth CIC’s youth-led community cohesion project Unified, which will hold a cultural event at Huddersfield Town Hall next summer.
A grant of £4,700 was awarded to Freedom Personal Safety CIC, a social enterprise which works with individuals and communities to increase personal safety.
It will fund the Safer Together project which focuses on tackling radicalisation.
The project will see personal safety workshops largely delivered through women’s centres in Huddersfield and Dewsbury but also in community settings with parents, carers, teenagers and children from a range of localities, cultural and religious groups.
Julie Tweedale, director of Freedom Personal Safety CIC, said: “We are delighted to receive this funding.
“We know that hate crime is on the increase in public spaces and that women are often seen as the ‘easy target’. This project will empower women and teenage girls to find their voice and have the confidence to take control of their personal safety.
“This fund takes money from the proceeds of crime and makes a difference to our local communities – it is a fantastic initiative.”
