GMP Tameside presents over £80,000 to groups in the local community - paid for from proceeds of crime

ARIS - Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme - Funding comes from money and property seized from criminals, which is distributed to police forces. Community groups and non-profits can apply for the maximum of £20,000 to fund 12 months' worth of activities.

Throughout the month of July, GMP Tameside, led by Chief Inspector Claire Galt, has presented a number of cheques totalling £81,444 to different community groups, to enable them to engage more people in the neighbourhood and keep them safe.

GMP Tameside presented Mossley FC with a cheque for £19.470, which will be used to purchase a community hub/container to be built on the site of the football club on Market Street in Ashton-under-Lyne.

The aim of this includes providing a club for the local youth to attend, an autism sensory room, Andyman's Club, mental health space, ASB diversion meetings, Neighbourhood policing meeting area - to include crime prevention events and police surgeries - learning events for youth football teams and a space for other local community groups.

The Luncheon Club, who meet at Denton Festival Hall, were the proud recipients of £2,000, which will be used to encourage more of the older generation in Tameside to come and meet at the hall, to have something to eat and to chat with other people.

Older people can often find themselves lonely through a variety of circumstances and as such, the ARIS funding allows the Luncheon Club to invest in asking more members of the community to come and see what it's all about.

The money enables them to put regular events on. such as the one they did for the King's Coronation, and provide a hot, nutritious meal in the company of others.

No More Knives Tour

The No More Knives Tour received a cheque for £18,000 which will allow the theatre company to reach over 14.500 young people by delivering the performance to eight secondary schools and four higher education establishments within the Tameside Metropolitan Borough.

The tour is designed to effectively educate young people on the risks involved with carrying a knife, which could result in their whole future being jeopardised. In 2020 the North West was highlighted as an area outside of London with high levels of knife crime and, in particular, how easy it is for young people to purchase a knife - both in-person and online.

Using music and dance to engage with young people and help them find a voice where they can realise their own potential, the Message Trust, who deliver the tour, launched a pilot project in Salford, Blackburn and Darwen, which, in a matter of months, saw young people relinquishing their knives to the police - putting themselves and their future first.

The tour is delivered in partnership with the Tameside Neighbourhood Policing Team, who will attend each 'No More Knives' presentation to share facts about carrying a knife and offer information on amnesty locations for those who want to surrender their knives.

Also a recipient was the charity, Tackling Minds, which is a Manchester-born community interest company that helps those suffering from mental health by taking them fishing. They received £17,250 to help others to find solutions to mental health solutions, by ensuring they access the support and care they need.

ARIS Funding was also presented to members of the Hyde Little Theatre for £11,244, which will help secure the future of a valuable community group within Hyde.,

The funds are being used for a CCTV upgrade as well as signage, equipment and for maintaining the property. Hyde Little Theatre provides a safe space for members of the Hyde community and intends to do so for the coming years.

Prime Active Communities received £14,200 and will be using their funds to pay for a number of youth workers who will be patrolling areas within Hyde and Hattersley which are well known for ASB.

The money will enable them to educate youngsters as well as getting them involved in various exercises and activities to help them build their confidence and provide a more inclusive environment.

This presentation takes the total money awarded to the Tameside community through proceeds of crime to £82,164.

Chief Inspector Claire Galt of Tameside Police said: "it has been my absolute pleasure to present cheques, alongside some of my team, to some of the different enterprises within Tameside, that will each help benefit the communities in different ways.

"They bring so much value and opportunity to people who live or work in the local area and it is rewarding that the funds come from the proceeds of crime and that good is being achieved from criminal activity."

Tameside's District Commander, Chief Superintendent Philip Davies, said: “The Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) is a core and fundamentally important activity here at Tameside Police.

"There is nothing that gives our officers more satisfaction that stripping the assets of parasitic local criminals and giving the funds back to the communities of Tameside for worthwhile projects that actually benefit local people.

"GMP is committed to delivering this important work and here at Tameside we are already on the hunt for next year’s assets to be converted into a force for good.”