CUMBRIA Police will get more than £1 million of extra cash from the Home Office to fund three innovative programmes.

Police and Crime Commissioner Richard Rhodes said he had secured £1,074,466 from the Police Innovation Fund to support the new initiatives over two years:

  •  £247,991 to expand services for victims of sexual violence;
  •  £306,020 for a Turning the Spotlight programme which will work with families and young people to prevent and reduce incidents of hate crime and domestic abuse; and
  •  £520,530 to develop a specialist training facility using IT software to 'simulate dynamic and live situations'.

Mr Rhodes said: “I am delighted to have brought more than a million pounds of investment into innovative projects in the county. This shows what can be achieved when partners work together for the benefit of the county.

“The projects further support victims and start to develop the pro-active approach to working with perpetrators when they are identified at an early stage. These are both incredibly important as they start to breakdown the cycle that often people find themselves pulled into."

Chief Constable Jerry Graham said: “These projects will enable the Constabulary and partner agencies to provide a more efficient and effective service to those who are victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault or hate crime in Cumbria.

“Supporting victims of crime and their families is a priority for the Constabulary and we hope that the level of support on offer by the introduction of these three projects will encourage those who suffer from crime to report it to police.

“Having a state of the art facility will enable the Constabulary and partner agencies across the county to train and work together in order to protect the people of Cumbria.”