Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews has unveiled a new flagship initiative putting communities at the helm of his plans for a safer and more prosperous future.
The Community Action Programme fulfils the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PCC’s Police and Crime Plan pledge to adopt a holistic approach to community safety, with a stronger emphasis on prevention and partnerships.
It brings together a series of connected initiatives designed to equip small and grassroots organisations with the skills, knowledge and support they need to help residents thrive and to ‘prevent rather than cure’ crime and disorder – a strategy conceived nearly 200 years ago by the father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel.
As part of the new programme, the PCC is empowering local communities to implement activities themselves that will have a direct impact in their areas and benefit local people.
Alongside ensuring crime prevention advice is readily available to the public, the PCC is launching a practical toolkit, highlighting simple cost-effective crime prevention activities that communities can implement themselves and ready-made strategies for developing solutions.
For those requiring extra support, the PCC has launched a Community Action Programme fund which will channel resources directly into the hands of those who know their communities best to strike at the roots of criminality and anti-social behaviour.
Replacing the Commissioner’s Safety Fund, the new scheme will distribute funding across six rounds in 2025-26 focusing on the core priorities of the Commissioner’s new Police and Crime Plan.
The fund aims to stop problems before they start by enlisting the support of community organisations in efforts to reduce crime, ease pressure on the emergency services and build safer, more connected communities.
Unveiling the new programme, Mr Matthews said: “The best solutions come from those who live, work and have inside knowledge of our neighbourhoods. This is why this scheme will do exactly what it says on the tin: powering action – not promises – to help transform our neighbourhoods to eradicate vulnerabilities that can escalate into crime and victimisation if left unchecked.
“The problems I am determined to address require cooperation and collaboration at the highest level – most importantly within our communities. I want to create a coalition of the willing across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, through commissioning and co-commissioning of activity, to implement proven interventions which meet the needs of our local areas and make a tangible contribution to the overall impact of reducing crime, harm and demand.”
The PCC is clear that parish councils, Neighbourhood Watch groups and other community groups run by volunteers are the backbone of society.
In his new Police and Crime Plan, the Commissioner promised to ensure these groups have access to training, support and funding to undertake the initiatives that make their communities safer.
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Posted on Monday 11th August 2025