Norwich SOS Bus awarded £20,000 from the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable’s Police Property Act Fund

Norwich’s SOS Bus has been awarded £20,000 from the Police and Crime Commissioner and Norfolk’s Chief Constable through the Police Property Act Fund.

The SOS Bus provides a safe place in Norwich on Friday and Saturday nights, for people to go to if their well-being is threatened with illness, injury, emotional distress or any other vulnerability.

A group of volunteers work on the bus to help vulnerable people.  Their valuable support helps to reduce unnecessary A&E visits and ambulance call-outs, reducing demand on hospitals.

The money donated will help the initiative to continue keeping people safe in the night-time economy, covering the costs for fuel and supplies.

Sarah Taylor, Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk, visited the SOS Bus as part of an ongoing effort to engage with various initiatives commissioned through the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Sarah said: “I was so impressed with the SOS bus, and the passion of all the brilliant volunteers about the work they do in supporting vulnerable people in the night-time economy.

“As part of my new Police and Crime Plan, there is a real emphasis on preventing crime, and initiatives such as the SOS bus are key in helping us achieve that goal by providing people who may be at greater risk of crime a safe place to go in the night-time economy.

“The Police Property Act Fund is made up of income received from property confiscated by court order and then sold, or from the sale of found property. This fund has not been spent in recent years, which means that a valuable, if small, source of funding has not been made available to local community services such as the SOS Bus. I’m pleased to provide support and funding to these initiatives that make real differences in our community.”

Belinda Buxton, SOS Bus Volunteer Manager, said: "We are extremely grateful to the Police & Crime Commissioner for recognising the vital work we do for the city of Norwich and the funding we have received from them.

"It will help us to continue providing our services for the night-time economy and providing a safe place for anyone in need of help and support, for whatever reason, in the city and support the police officers on shift as much as we can."