Archived decisions

Hampshire Police Authority - Crime Prevention Panel Item 4

23 May 2002

Review of Annual Grants made to Voluntary Organisations

Report of the Consultant to the Crime Prevention Panel

1. Introduction

1.1. For many years the Police Authority has made a number of annual grants to various charitable organisations operating within the two counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight who are primarily concerned with the prevention or reduction of crime and mitigating effects upon victims. Since January 2001 it has been the responsibility of the Crime Prevention Panel to monitor and evaluate the work of these organisations and where appropriate to make recommendations to the full Authority for any increase in grant.

1.2. The following reference represents a brief resume of grants currently allocated by the Authority to nine organisations, one of which has sought an increase in their annual grant.

1.	The Hampshire Bobby Trust	£7,500 per annum for 4 years including the first year 2000/01
2.	The Rock Challenge (Be Your Best Foundation)	£25,000 per annum
3.	The Hampshire Federation of Victim Support Schemes	£22,000
4.	The Isle of Wight Victim Support Scheme	£3,000
5.	The Southampton Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service	£2,000
6.	The Winchester Area Community Action Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service	£2,000 (an increase is sought to £2,500)
7.	The Basingstoke Rape and Sexual Abuse Crisis Centre	£2,000
8.	The Portsmouth Area Rape Crisis Service	£6,000
9.	The Hampton Trust	£25,000

1.3. In the financial year 2001/2002 the Portsmouth Area Rape Crisis Service and the Hampshire Trust received increases in their grants of £4,000 and £5,000 respectively.

1.4. The remainder of this report comprises a brief monitoring and evaluation of the work of the various organisations and where appropriate any recommendation for an increase in funding.

2. The Hampshire Bobby Trust

2.1. The Bobby Trust was registered by the Charity Commission in September 1999 and has a broad remit to protect the public and their property but its particular objective is to provide home security for vulnerable or needy elderly people. It is a practical service providing improved home security for victims of burglary and other crimes speedily and free of charge. The benefits of the scheme are not only in providing protection against further burglary, but also in helping to alleviate the long term effects of such crime which often leads to victims feeling confused and unable to continue living independently. The first Bobby van in Hampshire was inaugurated in November 1998 and in October 1999 the second van was generously donated and the scheme now covers the whole county of Hampshire, but excludes the County of the Isle of Wight.

2.2. During the last year the scheme has expanded by providing two extra services through fitting long life, low energy bulbs in client's hallways and in addition a smoke alarm where one is not already fitted. The cost of this aspect of the initiative is covered 50/50 between the Trust and the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, although a generous donation last year covered these extra costs for one year. All smoke alarms are fitted with 10 year batteries to overcome the risk of elderly clients forgetting to renew it.

2.3. During the past year for which full figures are available the number of referrals to the scheme increased by approximately 30% with the average age of clients being 73 and the average cost of fitting security devices being under £9.

2.4. The Bobby Scheme has been a tremendous success and has not rested upon its laurels expanding the scope of the scheme year upon year. The Authority's original contribution of £7,500 a year was agreed by the full Police Authority in 2000 to run for four years to meet an unexpected VAT bill and I would recommend that the Authority's contribution continue at that amount for the year 2002/03, being the third year for which it was originally approved.

3. The Rock Challenge (Be Your Best Foundation)

3.1. The Rock Challenge is an international drugs and crime prevention vehicle in the form of a performing arts competition for secondary schools focusing on young people leading healthy lifestyles and being their best without the need for tobacco, alcohol and drugs. The Rock Challenge was introduced to the UK by the Hampshire Constabulary and is now maintained by a charitable trust, The Be Your Best Foundation.

3.2. 2001 saw the best tour yet for the Rock Challenge and with 2002 season is looking to break all UK records with the number of participants. A whole host of new schools are joining the competition, both in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and in Hampshire alone in 2002 44 schools will take part making the Rock Challenge one of the most successful projects of its type for young people. The Hampshire Constabulary, supported by the Police Authority has made an enormous effort with finance and staff in order to deliver a wide range of innovative programmes to harness the talent and enthusiasm of young people and I would recommend that the Police Authority's annual contribution of £25,000 is made to the Rock Challenge for the financial year 2002/03.

4. Hampshire Federation of Victim Support Schemes

4.1. The Hampshire Federation of Victim Support Schemes is the umbrella organisation that provides training, guidance and support for the various local schemes throughout the county. The training for the volunteers includes dealing with victims of sexual assault, road deaths, domestic violence, loss and bereavement and dealing with the families of murder victims as well as providing a comprehensive general victim support service. During 2002 the individual charities in Hampshire are scheduled to be dissolved and the entire organisation amalgamated into one charitable corporation limited by guarantee to be known as Victim Support Hampshire.

4.2. During 2001 an important milestone was reached when the Magistrates Court Witness Service became operational throughout the county based at each of the six combined court locations.

4.3. The Victim Support Schemes of Hampshire, together with the Crown Court Witness Service provides tremendous value for money and meet a very real need within the criminal justice system and I would recommend that the annual grant of £22,000 is renewed for the financial year 2002/03.

5. The Isle of Wight Victim Support Scheme

5.1. The Isle of Wight Victim Support Scheme operates independently of the Hampshire Scheme, but provides an identical service for victims generally on the Isle of Wight, as well as providing a Crown Court and Magistrates Court witness service. The past year has been a busy one for the service, including the recruitment of new volunteers. It is possible that in the forthcoming year this service may have to relocate again with the inevitable disruption and extra cost that this involves, but every effort will be made to ensure that this move is seamless in order provide a continued high quality service to clients. I would recommend that the grant of £3,000 be renewed for the financial year 2002/2003.

6. The Southampton Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service

6.1. The Southampton service, which covers Southampton and area, provides free confidential counselling both on the telephone and face to face for women and girls who have been raped or sexually abused. In addition advice, information and other services are provided for relevant third parties. Its outreach and preventative work with young people will continue for another 12 months and the service has recently been enhanced by the recruitment of a Punjabi speaking counsellor.

6.2. The past year has also seen a very substantial increase in the number of clients who have gone on to report their experiences for formal investigation and this perhaps indicates a growing confidence in the way that such offences are investigated and dealt with by the criminal justice system.

6.3. The Southampton Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse counselling service is a successful and long established one and I would recommend that its annual grant of £2,000 be renewed for the financial year 2002/03.

7. The Winchester Community Action Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service

7.1. Rape and Sexual Abuse counselling services for the greater Winchester area is provided under the umbrella of the Winchester Area Community Action Project which is a coordinating body in the voluntary community sector. In addition to providing rape and sexual abuse counselling services, the organisation provides for counselling services in the women's annex of Winchester Prison and this service is funded by the Prison Service.

7.2. The past year has been a busy one for this service with a 30% increase in referrals and over 40% increase in the hours of counselling work necessary. This has resulted in a waiting list for the group services which is highlighted in the attached letter from their coordinator.

7.3. In view of this and the other statistical information provided in the attached letter of application, I would recommend that the grant to this particular group is increased to £2,500 for the year 2002/03.

8. The Basingstoke Rape and Sexual Abuse Crisis Service

8.1. The Basingstoke Rape and Sexual Abuse Crisis Service provides a crisis line service, direct counselling and support for victims right up to and including court proceedings. In addition it provides information to individual students and other organisations on a whole range of issues associated with its core purpose.

8.2. The past year has been yet another busy one for the service with over 400 calls being received mainly by self referrals to a team of trained volunteers, the number of which has grown during the year. During the past year the service has received a boost by moving to more suitable premises and enjoying the services of a paid coordinator. For the forthcoming year the service has set new targets for reducing its waiting list and the recruitment of extra volunteers to provide both its counselling and crisis line service.

8.3. I would recommend the Panel renew its grant for the financial year 2002/03 in the sum of £2,000.

9. The Portsmouth Area Rape Crisis Service

9.1. The Portsmouth Area Rape Crisis Service is the largest of the services within the Hampshire area and covers the city of Portsmouth as well as the surrounding areas of Gosport, Fareham and Havant. Last year this service received a substantial increase in its grant from £2,000 to £6,000 in an attempt to reduce the substantial waiting list for the Group's Services. Whilst waiting lists do still exist, a system of prioritisation has been introduced. Again, this year there has been a significant increase in the demands on the group, particularly following national publicity concerning the events in the Paulsgrove area.

9.2. The Portsmouth Service continues to be recognised as a progressive and innovative organisation and I would recommend that the Police Authority grant of £6,000 be renewed for the financial year 2002/03.

10. The Hampton Trust

10.1. For over five years, Hampshire Police Authority have supported the Hampton Trust by providing for its infrastructure costs with a grant of £25,000 per annum (increased in 2001). The aim of the Trust is to respond to the challenges presented by crime through:-

(1) focusing on young people at risk of committing crime or who are already offending;


(2) by developing and managing innovative projects to reduce crime, particularly youth crime, its impact on victims and a wider community throughout Hampshire and the Isle of Wight;


(3) helping young people find alternatives to crime to fulfil potential;


(4) Strengthening communities and reducing social exclusion by focusing on the need of offenders, those at risk of offending and their families;


(5) Working through carefully developed partnerships with local agencies to respond to local needs and make the best use of resources;


(6) Encouraging a wider debate about the issues of crime and social inclusion through facilitating seminars and the involvement of a number of policy making groups and organisations.

10.2. The Trust is currently involved in a number of hands on initiatives including family group conferencing, a restorative justice project, which is now expanding to cover all of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, interactive mentoring schemes, the Wessex Bail Supervision and Support Scheme, domestic violence project for families and offenders and making grants to ex offenders to help with basic needs and improve their life chances. Now included in their work is the Change Course project an innovative scheme which encourages kerb crawlers to change their ways. As an alternative to appearing in Court, offenders pay to attend a one day course. Its the first course of its kind in the UK and was developing using proven methods of working with sex offenders.

10.3. The Trust is making an important contribution towards crime prevention and reduction within the two counties and this contribution is likely to grow in the forthcoming years. I recommend that the Crime Prevention Panel maintain funding to the Hampton Trust in the sum of £25,000 for the year 2002/03.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. In the financial year 2002/03, financial assistance be awarded to the following organisations in the sums indicated:-

2. That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the full Authority, for the reasons specified in this report, that the grant to the following organisation be increased in 2002/03:- Winchester Area Community Action Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service - from £2,000 to £2,500.

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