The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley has secured nearly a million pounds to make streets safer and to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG).

The Government has announced £23.5m for police and local authorities to make streets safer, and the Thames Valley has been successful in two bids to claim a portion of the pot.

The rape and murder of Sarah Everard - an entirely innocent young woman who was simply walking home at night - would rightly have been appalling in any circumstances. The fact that Wayne Couzens was a serving police officer makes his evil crime even more shocking, further compounded by the fact that he used his trusted position as a constable to perpetrate these vile acts.

Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Thames Valley, Matthew Barber, has today [2/9] unveiled plans to commit £7.72million over the next three years to support the work of Community Safety Partnerships.

Having set out his vision for tackling crime in his Police & Criminal Justice Plan earlier this summer, Matthew has highlighted the need to work in partnership with communities and local councils to tackle issues of neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour.

Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber has awarded an additional £166,937 Ministry of Justice funding to organisations supporting victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

The Government has confirmed that a bid for an additional £800,000 to fund youth intervention programmes in Oxfordshire has been secured by the Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit.

Newly released figures show that 269 police officers have been recruited in Thames Valley as part of the Conservative Government’s pledge to put 20,000 more officers on the streets by 2023.