Community projects which help prevent young people from being lured into a life of crime, will soon benefit from funding as part of the Active Futures Programme.

Dan Price, Cheshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner is collaborating with Active Cheshire and Cheshire Community Foundation to provide projects with the funds to deliver early interventions through sport and physical activity for young people at risk of crime.

The project funding decisions will be based on data provided by Street Games. Which will highlight areas experiencing incidents of serious violence, number of anti-social behaviour (ASB) incidents or social issues such as deprivation.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Dan Price said:

“This is an exciting collaboration and by utilising the data provided by Street Games we can make a real difference to young people and make our communities safer.

“Providing young people with diversionary activities that they enjoy, such as sports is a healthy prevention tool that we can use to disrupt and deter young people from embracing crime. Whether that be low level ASB or something more serious.”

Active Cheshire CEO, Mike Watson said:

“The evidence behind sport and physical activity playing a strong role for social good is unequivocal. Our latest insights tells us that more work is still needed in this area, and joining with partners to tackle this issue head on will allow the power of sport and physical activity to be unlocked. 

“We believe in a more active Cheshire and are delighted to be able to invest in local organisations who have the greatest impact on our young people.”

Cheshire Community Foundation CEO, Mel Sproston said:

“As your local Community Foundation we are perfectly placed to distribute this funding to local groups doing great work with young people. Our vision is of a Cheshire where everybody can thrive; supporting local young people to find their passions and live safe, fulfilling lives is a huge part of achieving that. 

“We collaborate with a whole range of stakeholders to identify and fund solutions to local problems, so we’re delighted to be working with the PCC and Active Cheshire to deliver this much-needed intervention.”

More information about Street Games can be found at https://www.streetgames.org/

More information about Active Cheshire can be found at www.activercheshire.org

More information about Cheshire Community Foundation can be found at https://cheshirecommunityfoundation.org.uk/