Government unveils £130 million funding package to tackle serious crime

The finance package includes £30 million to support the police service in targeting action in those parts of England and Wales most affected by serious violence. This is new money following in the wake of over £100 million worth of surge funding provided to the police service across the past two years and which has already seen over 100,000 weapons seized and thousands of hours of enforcement activity (including increased patrols, weapons sweeps and Stop and Search operations) conducted in designated ‘hotspot’ areas.

It also encompasses up to £23 million for new early intervention programmes that will help to prevent younger people from being drawn into violence. This includes programmes which use significant moments in a young person’s life – such as those times when they enter police custody or an A&E Department – as opportunities for trained professionals to engage with them and strive to divert them away from a life of crime and violence.

The announcement of the new funding comes ahead of the introduction of a major criminal justice bill which will afford the police new Stop and Search powers to tackle known knife and weapons carriers and place a duty on public sector bodies – including the police service and education and health agencies – to adopt a joined-up approach towards addressing serious violence. The legislation will also require local agencies to review the circumstances when an adult homicide takes place involving offensive weapons such as knives in order to ensure that lessons are learned and future deaths prevented.

Priti Patel commented: “I’m determined to cut crime and make our streets safer, which is why we’re recruiting 20,000 more police officers, introducing new Stop and Search powers and giving the police service the resources required to go after the serious violent criminals causing misery in communities.”

Patel added: “When it comes to gangs and serious violence, we must also tackle the underlying causes. That’s why we’re investing in new early intervention programmes to stop young people committing these crimes in the first place.”

Key priority

Assistant Chief Constable Jackie Sebire, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for serious violent crime, explained: “Continuing to work with partners to address serious violence and its widespread impact on individuals and communities is a key priority for police forces. Even during the pandemic, we’ve seen serious street-based violence continue, and particularly so violence involving young people as both victims and perpetrators.”

Sebire went on to state: “I’ve seen officers and staff confronting real challenges to their own safety every day, facing unknown dangers when they’re executing warrants, taking knives from those carrying them in public places and dealing with victims of serious violence and trauma with compassionate professionalism. Bringing about sustained reductions in violence is an incredibly complex task. We welcome this renewal of funding from the Home Office which will allow the police service to maintain a focus on tactics and activities that we know work well in local communities.”

The package is made up of funding secured at the Spending Review and also delivered through the Shared Outcomes Fund. The latter supports pilot projects designed to test innovative ways of working across the public sector.

It also includes a range of other measures designed to address the factors that lead to serious violent crime and prevent it from happening in the first place. The sum of £3.4 million is being used to expand work being carried out by the Metropolitan Police Service’s Social Media Hub to investigate online gang-related material, gather evidence for prosecutions and make referrals to social media companies such that illegal and harmful content can be taken down.

Further, £1 million will be used to set up and start the pilot for new homicide reviews. These reviews will take place following the deaths of adults where offensive weapons have been involved and will require local agencies and safeguarding partners to examine individual cases such that future deaths are prevented. Further funding to the tune of £1.8 million will be made available next year to continue the pilot into 2022-2023.

Creating Opportunities Forum

£1.6 million is being put towards piloting the Creating Opportunities Forum. This is a new programme designed to support young people who may be at risk of serious violence to access employment opportunities. Funding of £1.7 million will also be available next year to fund the pilot into 2022-2023.

The funding package also encompasses a further £35.5 million being put towards Violence Reduction Units which was announced in early February. The Violence Reduction Units draw together partners in those 18 areas worst affected by serious violence to deliver a full range of co-ordinated action that’s needed to tackle serious violence at its epicentre.

The remaining funding will all be spent on programmes which support the Government’s key ambition of driving down serious violent crime.