Over £2.5 million is to be given to services helping victims of crime this year, thanks to Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Festus Akinbusoye.

In line with the Police and Crime plan, which lays out the priorities for the year by crime type, victims of all ages and backgrounds across the county are to have more help available to them.

The PCC said: “I meet victims of crime every day when out and about around Bedfordshire. As a Police and Crime Commissioner, I have insight into the range of crimes our police officers face, day in day out, but I also get the opportunity to hear from the victims themselves.

“This is why we have ensured that the range of services commissioned this year reflects the diversity of the communities in Bedfordshire, as well as the diversity of crime. And that the process is fair, transparent and equal.

“We want local people to feel confident to report crime and get the support that they need afterwards.”

Over £210,000 is being invested in new services this year, in addition to £195,000 being put into developing initiatives and services focused on children, young people, sexual exploitation, stalking, multi-crime and hate crime.

This new investment, alongside continued funding for existing services takes the total funding for PCC commissioned victim and community safety services to £2,579,432 for the 2024/25 financial year.

The commissioning process is administered by the OPCC, which advertises the services to be provided, receives and reviews the applications, awards commissioning grants to successful organisations and monitors the delivery of the services.

If you are interested in applying for funding by the OPCC, keep an eye on our website for new competition adverts, which your organisation could bid into for new funding.