Commissioner's Crime Prevention Fund

Closed. Expected to re-open: Autumn 2025

Grant details

Grant size:Up to £10,000

Who is it for?Local groups based in Somerset that meet our minimum standards.

What is it for?To help make communities safer.

What can we use this money for?

This fund is about helping communities become safer.

We’re offering grants of between £1,000 to £10,000 to run a project:

  • in a particular neighbourhood so that everyone benefits from reduced crime, serious violence and antisocial behaviour, or
  • for a specific group of people who are at higher risk of being the victims or perpetrators of crime, serious violence and antisocial behaviour.

In this round, we’re particularly interested in giving money to groups that can explore approaches that could prevent people from becoming victims of crime and antisocial behaviour, including:

  • bystander interventions to prevent intimate partner and sexual violence
  • projects addressing harmful behaviours or beliefs
  • projects that teach older people about how to spot online fraud
  • training your frontline staff and volunteers to spot the signs of someone being at risk.

This isn’t everything we will support, but whatever you apply for you must be able to tell us how it helps to prevent crime in some way. This is important, because this money must contribute to the Police and Crime Plan 2021 - 2025.

If you can do that, then we’re happy to consider paying for:

  • people’s time to deliver the project
  • a contribution towards people’s time to manage your group
  • travel
  • buying small items of equipment
  • a contribution towards your group’s core running costs, like training and development.

Use this page to apply if your group is based in Somerset. Find out more if you are based in BANES, Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire.

 

What can’t we use this money for?

We can’t help you if:

  • you want to make an individual building more secure by installing things like CCTV, gates, fences etc., unless it prevents a known threat of criminal activity.
  • you want to provide counselling services.
  • your work is being considered under other OPCC or Ministry of Justice funding programmes.
  • you have applied to this fund before and been turned down, unless you are applying for a different activity or significant changes have been made
  • you have received a grant from this fund in the last 12 months
  • you’re an individual, or operate as a sole trader or company limited by shares
  • you work or volunteer for a statutory organisation, like a parish council or school
  • you want to provide a statutory duty, like educational activities for pupils that take place during the school day
  • your activities have already taken place or if you have already purchased what you need
  • you work or volunteer for a group that gives money to another group, rather than spend it on their own activities
  • your work is about animal welfare.

There are some projects where you will usually be better making an application to another fund:

  • using sport to reduce crime, serious violence and antisocial behaviour among young people under the age of 25. For this, please consider applying to the Crime Prevention Through Sport Fund. This is run by SASPin Somerset and Wesport in BANES, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.
  • Neighbourhood Watch schemes. For this, please consider applying to the Police Community Trust General Fund. Costs for equipment, signage and so on are eligible under this fund.
  • road safety projects. For this, please consider applying to the Road Safety Fund. This is also run by the Police Community Trust.

If either of these last two funds are closed when you want to make an application, then please contact us using the details below and we will discuss the best option.

Which groups can apply?

We can only consider your group for a grant from this funding programme if you meet our minimum standards.

Our minimum standards cover things like:

  • the types of groups we can give a grant to and how we expect them to be run
  • how we expect those groups to manage their finances
  • how those groups keep people safe.

All of our minimum standards are on our FAQs page, where you can also find lots of information about applying for funding.

Please note that we can consider applications from national or regional organisations, but only where there is no local organisation undertaking the work in question. In such cases we will only consider projects that are clearly targeted in our area, and not contributions to national campaigns.

When do we have to apply?

This funding programme is now closed. We expect it to open later in the year.

 

How likely am I to get a grant?

Sadly, we can’t provide funding to every group that applies to us.

You can ask for between £1,000 and £10,000. Please note that we expect the typical grant to be around £5,000 and will only award higher amounts for areas with higher rates of crime, serious violence and antisocial behaviour.

We have around £275,000 to give out a year and expect to make about 50 grants in total.

We’re more likely to recommend a grant to the panel if you: 

  • clearly explain what you’ll do with the money, how this will help to prevent crime, and whether this represents good value for money
  • work in an area with higher rates of crime and antisocial behaviour, or with a group who are clearly at higher risk of becoming the victims or perpetrators of crime
  • have reported back well on any previous grants we have given you
  • have not received any money from this fund in the last 12 months.

This money will be distributed around the area covered by Avon & Somerset Police based on the number of people who live in each place. That means that approximately:

  • £110,000 will be awarded to groups in Bristol
  • £80,000 to groups in Somerset 80k
  • £27,500 each to groups in BANES, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

The fund has a set budget, and we will not be able to support everyone who applies. The application process is competitive, and we will only be able to support the strongest applications.

As a guide, our aim is to support 2 out of every 3 applications we receive, but if a lot of people apply it may be lower.

How are decisions made?

Your application will be assessed by one of our team. They’ll read through what you’ve written, look at your supporting documents, and check places like the Charity Commission and your website. We may contact you if we have any questions.

A recommendation will usually then be made, and a panel will make the final decision. The panel for this fund includes representatives from the OPCC.

How do I apply to this programme?

You can apply for a grant by clicking on the button below.

You’ll need to provide an email address and then we’ll email you a link to an online form. If you don’t see an email from us after a few minutes, then please check your spam folder.

You don’t have to complete the form in one go. Instead, you can complete some sections then click ‘save draft’ at the bottom of the page. Use the link in your email to return to the form at another time.

The form asks you to provide some information to different questions and to attach some supporting documents.

Finally, you must read the terms and conditions and click ‘submit’.

Please contact the funding programme manager, below, if you can’t use the online form, or attach any of these documents. They’ll support you to make your application in another way.

Get help with this funding programme

This funding programme is managed by Andy, our Programmes Director. Andy can help if you:

  • aren’t sure if you meet our standards
  • aren’t sure if this is the best fund to apply for
  • can’t use our online form, need extra support with your application or if English isn’t your first language
  • can’t attach the documents we’ve asked for.

If you are based in Bristol, BANES, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire then please apply here.

 

Andy Ridgewell (He/Him)
Programmes Director
Working days: Mon - Fri
Closed. Expected to re-open: Autumn 2025

Grant details

Grant size:Up to £10,000

Who is it for?Local groups based in Somerset that meet our minimum standards.

What is it for?To help make communities safer.

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FAQs

You can find our minimum standards and everything else you need to know about applying on our FAQs page.

Browse our FAQs