This section contains information about the Community Safety Unit's current funding programmes.

Assistance for developing Community Safety Partnerships is covered by the Community Safety Unit's Partnership Development fund. This is managed by Community Safety Partnership Branch. It provides funding for Community Safety Co-ordinators who are located throughout Northern Ireland. The Community Safety Policy Branch is responsible for the funding of local projects through these local Community Safety Partnerships. The Crime Reduction and Voluntaries Branch is responsible for funding of Northern Ireland-wide crime reduction initiatives. Further details on each of these Programmes is listed below.

Community Safety Policy Branch is responsible for the funding for projects through local Community Safety Partnerships.

The Challenge Competition

Community Safety Partnerships or Interim Bodies have been encouraged to make funding bids towards the CSU's Challenge Competition. Project proposals must be designed as either local, regional, or area based responses to identified Community Safety issues and as set out in the Government's Community Safety Strategy.

Click here for a list of Projects funded by Rounds 1 and 2 of the Challenge Competition,

Click here for a list of Projects funded by Round 3 of the Challenge Competition

Bee safe

The Bee Safe initiative is a multi-agency interactive community education programme designed for children in primary six/seven to promote personal safety and community awareness. The agencies involved in this initiative are DOE Road Safety Education, Police Service, NI Fire Brigade, Health and Social Services Trust, Belfast City Council, Castlereagh Borough Council, NIE and Translink. The programme will be offered free of charge to children and will give children the opportunity of participating in active learning scenarios which depict dangerous situations they might come across in their daily lives.

Crime Reduction and Voluntaries Branch is responsible for funding Northern Ireland-wide crime reduction projects. Current programmes being run by this Branch are:

Stay Safe, Stay Secure Campaign

While older people are the least likely group to be a victim of violent crime, there have been a rise in the number attacks on older people and incidents of bogus callers. These issues are increasingly making headline news. Thus, the Community Safety Unit has been working with a number of partner organisations to address some of the concerns that have been raised by older people. £ 2.58 million has been acquired to help government begin to deal effectively with this problem - specifically to improve security in the homes of older people

Click on the titles below to view the initiatives currently under this campaign:

Vehicle Crime

Tackling theft from vehicles is a key component of the Government's strategy to drive down car crime. Based on information and evidence from the police, the Community Safety Unit launched in November 2004 a public information campaign to highlight the threat of theft from vehicles. The key message being promoted by this awareness campaign is "if they see it, they'll steal it". This campaign is run for several weeks each year.

Operation Clean up is a pilot project designed to reduce crime and anti social behaviour by removing untaxed vehicles from public roads in greater Belfast and adjoining police districts

Drug and Alcohol Strategy

The Unit acts as the co-ordinator for criminal justice issues arising from the Government's Drug and Alcohol strategy for Northern Ireland. This includes funding a number of drug treatment projects managed by statutory and voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice field.

With the reclassification of cannabis on 29 Jan 2004 from a Class B to Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Unit has produced an information leaflet, poster and radio advert to explain to the wider public the effects of this change. In particular to stress that cannabis remains an illegal drug.