The Safer Street Fund launched in 2020 to
allow Local Authorities and Police forces to bid for funding to
provide measures proven to prevent neighbourhood crime, including
CCTV, street lighting, alleygating and improving the security of
properties at risk of neighbourhood crime.
Funding was also available to schemes delivering other
interventions aimed at changing attitudes and behaviours in
relation to Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in the public
domain through educational activities and behavioural change
programmes. The focus will also be on the night-time economy and
working with local businesses to keep women safe and raise
awareness of VAWG in local pubs and bars.
In September 2023 Surrey Police were successful in securing funding
for initiatives for delivering a range of interventions in
Guildford to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour and VAWG over the period
from 1 October 2023 to 31 March 2025 through public realm
improvements and the provisions of a Street Marshalling
Service.
In December 2023 the Police asked Regulatory Services to secure the
Street Marshalling Service as they wished to separate the service
from Policing.
£85,868 of the Safer Streets fund has been allocated to the
Marshalling project, including £4k equipment costs.
Allocation of the funding for Marshalling Services will be provided
to the Council by the Police for GBC to manage the contract.
Marshals will work in partnership with GBC services, Surrey Police
and the Experience Guildford BID with the aim of creating a town
wide resource provision that can be deployed at busy times to areas
at a time it is needed to support the response to Anti-Social
Behaviour.
To ensure the most effective use of funding, the Marshals would be
deployed in an intelligence fashion across the town to work in
areas where they can be most effective and with a focus on
engagement and enforcement of PSPO provisions, Anti-Social
Behaviour and other environmental offences to improve the public
realm.
The role of marshals is to engage, explain, encourage and secure
compliance by providing a visible and supportive reassuring
presence. However, we have to accept that their role and the advice
being offered may not always be welcomed by the public or
operators. There is a risk that certain groups and individuals will
be upset at best and at worst become abusive. There may also be a
demand for deployment of Marshals in certain areas at certain times
creating potential conflict on demand.