Plans for a female only court could come to Wirral, if government support for the scheme is agreed.
Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Emily Spurrell said she’s asked the Ministry of Justice for support to create a female only court in Wirral - the only part of Merseyside without one.
The request for a female offenders court in Wirral would be the expansion of a scheme that looks to identify why women commit crime and solve underlying issues. Sefton was the first area in the region to take part in 2019.
Emily Spurrell said: “This has been hailed as national good practice and, from April 2022, it will be expanded to cover all Merseyside-based authorities, except for Wirral. As such, I have written to the Ministry of Justice to request support for a specific female offender’s court in Wirral.”
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This, along with £845,000 of additional funding to tackle crime, was revealed in the first annual report since Ms Spurrell was elected in May 2021.
The funding has gone towards tackling youth crime across Wirral, supporting male domestic violence victims, and improving safety in Seacombe and North Birkenhead.
The commissioner said: “I’d like to thank everyone who has supported and worked alongside me to deliver all these important initiatives and projects. There’s such a commitment across our region to preventing crime, supporting the vulnerable and improving the safety of our communities. There’s much more still to do and I am determined to waste no time.”
Around £450,000 will be used to fund crime reduction, including cutting burglaries by 5% in the Seacombe area - running next to a similar project in North Birkenhead. Funding came from the Home Office and is run by Wirral Council, Mrs Spurrell, and Merseyside Police.
More than 40 new alleygates have been installed and eight new CCTV cameras as well as upgrading and introducing new street lights.
Of the £2.8m of Merseyside funding, £345,000 has been invested in Wirral communities with this money going towards reducing the number of youth offenders and encouraging over 1,000 people to engage in sport and other activities.
Wirral Council also received £50,000 to provide dedicated support for men who have suffered abuse and violence at home.
Other Wirral projects celebrated in the report included work by the Wirral Domestic Abuse Alliance aimed at challenging the behaviour of men who have been identified as perpetrators or potential perpetrators.
£818,000 has gone towards four projects, including one in Wirral, to help protect families at risk of domestic violence as well as perpetrators of abuse.
In total between April 2021 and March 2022, £370 million went towards police services and reducing crime across the Merseyside area.
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