CRIME cracking projects in Hampshire have received a welcome fincincial hand after more then £50,000 worth of grants were handed out.

Hampshire Police Authority, the body in charge of overseeing Hampshire police, awarded the money to a host of organisations aimed at reducing crime.

At a meeting of the authority's Crime Prevention Committee grants totalling £50,750 were given to 14 initiatives.

Among the successful projects to apply for a receive funding was Hampshire MusicSpace that was granted £3,000 for its Millbrook music therapy initiative designed to help young people communicate and prevent them from resorting to anti-social behaviour. The MusicSpace Project has been used within pupil referral units and youth inclusion projects elsewhere in Hampshire and has successfully tackled poor expression and frustration over communication among young people.

The grant makes up the remainder of the money needed to get this project going in Southampton, where music therapy will help a number of young people over a 12-week course.

Chairman of the Crime Prevention Committee Councillor Peter Mason said: "I have absolutely no doubt of the benefits to both individuals and to communities of raising self-esteem and creating a sense of achievement among young people."

The Holbury and Gang Warily PRIME Group was granted £3,500 for its Gang Warily ball goal facility in Newlands Park in Blackfield after members heard how the waterside area needed some investment in local facilities to keep up with the rate of housing developments in the region.

The new ball goal will form part of a series of projects designed to provide local 14 to 19-year-olds with healthier alternative ways to spend their time in the park and persuade them to move away from gathering in the shopping precincts.

Councillor Mason said: "Simple facilities such as this result in a number of positive outcomes for a community. It will, of course, provide another activity for young people resulting in less anti-social behaviour arising from boredom and it also will provide a focus point for young people to gather."

Other projects that benefited included: Thornhill Youth Centre, South Wonston Skate Park Group, Westwood Woodland Park PRIME Group, Springwood Community Centre CCTV project, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Domestic Violence Strategy Group and Newtown Youth Centre in Southampton.