What is the Building Safer Communities Program?
The Building Safer Communities Program is an initiative to support innovative approaches to address the causes of offending, crime and community safety.
Background
At the heart of the government’s crime prevention approach is a focus on empowering and investing in Victorian communities to deliver tailored and effective interventions addressing the causes of offending. It recognises that communities hold the knowledge, skills and experience to design and deliver effective solutions to local issues.
Crime prevention approaches are most effective when government partners with communities to understand and address issues that make some communities more vulnerable to crime and victimisation. Through funding this grants program, the government aims to:
- support local communities to deliver innovative crime and community safety solutions in local areas
- promote the development and delivery of collaborative, partnership approaches to crime prevention as part of a strategic approach to local community safety
- build community capability through knowledge sharing and strengthened relationships.
The new grants are part of the Community Crime Prevention Program and replace the previous grants programs, which included the Public Safety Infrastructure Fund, Graffiti Prevention Grants and Community Safety Fund.
Objectives
Creating Safer Places funding aims to:
- help prevent crime and improve safety and community perceptions of safety
- encourage the legitimate use of public places by increasing amenity and encouraging a positive sense of ownership of the space
- assist a diverse range of community members to feel safer and become more engaged in their community
- encourage the development of local partnerships to understand and address local crime prevention issues.
The Crime Prevention Innovation Fund aims to support projects that:
- Test new approaches to addressing crime and community safety issues that are evidence based and reflect promising practice.
- Actively build capability within the community to understand and address crime and community safety issues.
- Contribute to the evidence base of effective crime prevention practice.
Applicants should clearly identify the need for, and likely benefit of their proposed initiative, using evidence.
Funding
Under the Building Safer Communities Program Victorian councils, not-for-profit organisations and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to apply for grant funding under two competitive grant streams:
- Stream 1 – Creating Safer Places – competitive grants of between $25,000 and $300,000 for councils to undertake urban design projects that apply an inclusive environmental design approach to deter crime, increase safety and activate public places.
- Stream 2 – Crime Prevention Innovation Fund – competitive grants of between $25,000 and $300,000 for councils, not for profit community organisations and other specialist organisations for partnership projects that deliver and evaluate innovative community safety and crime prevention initiatives.
Eligible Projects
Stream 1 – Creating Safer Places
Applicants are encouraged to incorporate a combination of the following elements in their project to reflect the needs of the community:
- Inclusive urban design principles to enhance the safety and amenity of public spaces for a diversity of community members, which could include graffiti prevention measures.
- Place-making initiatives that increase community ownership and use of a location.
- Consultation with a diverse range of community members in the design and implementation of the project, noting reasonable consultation costs can be covered by the grant.
- Education or awareness initiatives that address reasons for poor perceptions of safety in an area, such as graffiti.
Councils are encouraged to consider conducting a Perceptions of Safety Survey in their municipality as part of their project where this would support or complement other project activity. Grant funding can be used to cover reasonable costs relating to the delivery of the survey and these should be clearly identified in your project budget.
Stream 2 – Crime Prevention Innovation Fund
Funding is available for a range of innovative projects that address the above objectives. This includes but is not limited to:
- Demonstration projects to test and evaluate new approaches to preventing crime that consider how benefits may be sustained beyond the funding period.
- The development of practical tools and resources to improve the understanding and/or management of crime and community safety related issues.
- Initiatives that work with and engage diverse communities or groups (such as cultural or religious groups, women, young people or members of the LGBTQI community) to identify, test and document practical strategies that build resilience and improve safety and perceptions of safety.
- Initiatives that establish or strengthen partnerships across community, business, sport, government services and other sectors to address the causes of offending and crime and build community cohesion and safety.
Applicants are encouraged to consider conducting a Perceptions of Safety Survey as part of their project where this would support or complement other project activity. Grant funding can be used to cover reasonable costs relating to the delivery of the survey and these should be clearly identified in your project budget.
Eligible Applicants
Stream 1 – Creating Safer Places
- Victorian councils are eligible to apply
Stream 2 – Crime Prevention Innovation Fund
- Victorian councils and not-for-profit organisations that are a legal entity are eligible to apply. Research bodies and commercial entities (such as consultancies, universities or social enterprises) can also apply but must partner with a council or community organisation on their application.
Timing
Applications close 15 March 2021.
