The City of Casey has been successful in securing a Victorian Government Empowering Communities grant, to strengthen local crime prevention and community safety initiatives.
The grant was announced recently by Victorian Crime Prevention Minister Natalie Hutchins and Member for Cranbourne Pauline Richards MP, with the City of Casey named as one of six successful municipalities each awarded $700,000 as part of the program.
The Empowering Communities program is designed to support local communities to design and lead initiatives that address the causes of crime and improve perceptions of safety.
In Casey, this will involve the establishment of a community-led action group to assess and initiate local crime prevention and community safety projects over the next two years.
A forum to begin the process will be held on Wednesday 8 December, bringing together community leaders and organisations including Neighbourhood Watch and Victoria Police, who will seek to form a Casey Action Group and provide insights into key areas of concern.
City of Casey administrator Miguel Belmar welcomed the funding and said it was a positive step towards addressing some of the community safety issues identified around the municipality.
“As part of our recent Shape Your City engagement, which received feedback from more than 6,000 residents, we saw community safety and reducing local crime was a key concern for many,” Mr Belmar said.
“Council has an active role to play in connecting community and social services in the municipality and already works closed with Victoria Police to address a range of issues, for example improving lighting in public areas and managing anti-social activity in local reserves.
“This grant will allow us to build on the initiatives we already have in place and ensure the important conversations with our community continue to address long-term issues around perceptions of safety and crime prevention.”
