A grant scheme designed to help communities in Devon and Cornwall make themselves safer has been launched by Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg.
Mr Hogg has made £200,000 available for the first year of his Small Grant Scheme to provide practical support to small groups looking to improve their local area.
Community and other local organisations, whose work has a positive impact on reducing crime and make their communities safer, will be able to bid for up to £5,000 in funding.
They will be selected to complement the priorities in Mr Hogg's police and crime plan – available at www.devonand cornwallpcc.gov.uk – which was published earlier this year.
Key areas include alcohol-related violence, protecting the most vulnerable with a focus on domestic, family and sexual abuse, reducing re- offending, giving victims and witnesses a stronger voice and increasing the use of volunteers.
"It is all about supporting the police and crime plan which is pretty broad and I don't think people will have any difficulty in doing that," Mr Hogg explained.
"Hopefully it will encourage enterprise, ideas and self help and I'm looking forward to seeing the applications that are submitted."
Since his election last November, Mr Hogg has been keen to improve partnership working between Devon and Cornwall Police, other organisations and communities.
He believes the scheme will help forge closer ties between the force and the communities they serve, to everyone's benefit.
"I'm sure it will take off in terms of the number of bids it generates," Mr Hogg added. "If we get some really brilliant ideas and initiatives who knows where it could end up in the future."
After retiring from the Royal Navy, Mr Hogg worked as chief executive of Cornwall-based social enterprise BF Adventure, which helps prevent troubled youngsters turning to crime. That experience, he said, meant he knew what the voluntary sector could achieve.
"I know £5,000 is not a huge amount of money but I think it can make a huge difference to small groups and communities," he added.
"There is such a lot of good work going on in the voluntary sector and if you give them a pound, they will multiply its effect threefold. It is fantastic."
Mr Hogg is particularly keen that the grant scheme attract applications that address alcohol-related violence, although that is not to the detriment of other applications that are aligned to priority areas in his police and crime plan.
Bids to the scheme do not preclude organisations from seeking funding from other police-related initiatives.
The cash can not be used to replace statutory services or fund individuals, although it can be used to cover the costs of an individual's contribution to a wider project.
It is also not designed to support expeditions or trips, replace statutory funding, provide bursaries or scholarships, or support projects outside Devon and Cornwall.
Organisations with multiple projects can apply for funding for each although it is unlikely more than one grant per organisation will be awarded.
Bids that are unsuccessful in the first round of applications cannot be resubmitted in the following 12 months.
Decisions on applications will be made twice a year. The first deadline for bids is October 31, with successful projects being announced in December. The second round closes on May 31, with approved applications being published in July.