Press release:
Crime Pays… For Community Renewal
A £4 million pilot programme has been launched to help local groups decide how criminals’ cash can change their communities.
The Home Office’s new Community Cashback scheme allows the general public in England and Wales to submit ideas that will reduce crime and anti-social behaviour whilst improving local facilities.
The total value of assets recovered from criminals during the past financial year rose to an all-time high of £148 million, with the Government now keen to divert some of these “ill-gotten gains” back into local projects.
Home Secretary Alan Johnson said:
“The Community Cashback fund will ensure a portion of the ill-gotten gains of criminals are ploughed back into communities at a grassroots level, funding the projects that the public decide will make the most positive difference to their lives.”
Project ideas can be submitted to the relevant Local Criminal Justice Board through a dedicated programme website, while people will also get to have their say on shortlisted projects in their area.
Encouraging communities to get involved in the initiative, Louise Casey, the Government’s Crime and Justice Adviser, said:
“It is only right that the public should have a say on how cash from criminals is spent in their communities. This sends a strong message to the public that the criminal justice system cares about what they think and is on their side.”
Between January and April this year, more than £23 million worth of criminals’ assets were distributed back into frontline public services, with police forces across England and Wales sharing £7 million.
For further information about the pilot and to submit an idea for a potential project, visit the dedicated Community Cashback website
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