A STRATEGY to cut crime and improve quality of life includes plans to offer grants to win help from the public.

The incentive scheme to encourage people to become more involved in fighting crime and disorder follows months of detailed planning by police and other agencies.

A report on the first year of the work of the Wyre Forest Community Safety Partnership has been give the all round stamp of approval by police and all groups involved in the statutory scheme ranging from council representatives to doctors, business concerns and the probation service.

Giving his first official report on how the partnership has operated since it started in April last year, Supt Ron Whitfield, of Kidderminster Police, said: "Steady and innovative progress" had been made by all project groups which would lead to detailed action in the months ahead."

The various groups involved came together under the provisions of the Crime & Disorder Act 1998 to engage the police, local authorities and other agencies in action as a partnership.

The three year strategy in Wyre Forest wants to reduce domestic violence, tackle vehicle crime, address the problem of fear of crime and the misuse of drugs and help communities in their own areas to cut crime and disorder and improve the quality of life.

But in outlining the partnership's aims for 2000 to 2001, the report warns that although it is clear on the way forward, its ability to meet targets would depend on the amount of Government funding it can attract.

However, the report said it aimed to encourage community involvement by providing "small grants" for projects by individuals or groups that contribute to targets.

The reports said: "There is no doubt that the partnership has a long way to go with a lot to achieve. But we are confident that our combined efforts with the community will add value to last year's work and take us closer to achieve what we have set out within given timescales.

In the weeks ahead, the Shuttle/Times & News plans to turn the spotlight on the various areas of activity on which the partnership is concentrating to explain the new action plans and to look at how they are working.

The first next week will look at new strategies to tackle a relatively high incidence of domestic violence in Wyre Forest.