More than £1.7million has been awarded to tackle crime, anti-social behaviour and violence against women and girls in South Yorkshire.

Following successful applications, the Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire, Dr Alan Billings, has been awarded the grant as part of the Safer Streets Fund.

The Home Office offered PCCs from across England and Wales the opportunity to bid for funding from a £50million scheme, which aims to crack down on anti-social behaviour (ASB), neighbourhood crime and violence against women and girls (VAWG).

The money will go to police forces, local authorities, British Transport Police and eligible community groups across England and Wales. The Safer Streets Fund allows forces and local authorities to invest in transformative crime prevention initiatives.

Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster will all benefit from funding, including additional CCTV, improved street lighting, community engagement initiatives and mobile CCTV vehicles.

Welcoming the funding, Dr Billings said: “I’m pleased that the bids put forward to tackle crime and ASB in South Yorkshire have been successful. This gives a considerable boost to our funding locally, especially for preventative interventions.

“This money will be used on practical measures, including CCTV and educational workshops to tackle crime and make people safer.

“In my role as Police and Crime Commissioner, I meet people in many places across South Yorkshire and hear directly from them about the need to deter and prevent as well as crack down on crime and ASB.

“This is why crime prevention and crime reduction are among my top priorities in the Police and Crime Plan.”

Cllr Rachael Blake, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, Communities and Equalities added: “The Safer Streets funding awarded to Doncaster will enable us to fund a number of CCTV and lighting schemes across the borough. This will include parks and public spaces, identified within local surveys where the public – particularly women and girls – feel unsafe.

“The funding will also help us to further develop youth diversionary schemes in areas affected by anti-social behaviour and educational programmes in schools across Doncaster to raise awareness of the impact of anti-social behaviour.

“Doncaster has been successful in the three previous rounds of Home Office Safer Streets funding, however this is the largest award and will be used to tackle the key priorities of anti-social behaviour, neighbourhood crime and violence against women and girls.”