James Duddridge MP has welcomed additional funding of over £130 million to tackle serious violent crime – including murder and knife crime – in the coming year.
Essex Police will receive £686,000 as part of this extra funding, as one of the 18 areas across England and Wales selected for targeted police action.
The total £130.5 million funding package includes £30 million to support the police to take targeted action in parts of England and Wales most affected by serious violence, as well as up to £23 million for a new early intervention programme that will help stop young people from being drawn into the cycle of violence.
In addition to this funding, today’s announcement also provides:
- £10 million to expand domestic abuse perpetrator programmes – working with offenders to help them change and prevent abuse happening in the first place
- Over £3 million to expand investigations into gang related material on social media
- £1.6 million towards piloting the Creating Opportunities Forum which helps provide access to employment opportunities for young people at risk of serious violence
- £1 million to set up and pilot new homicide reviews – helping to prevent future deaths.
The funding package comes ahead of the introduction of a major criminal justice Bill, which will give police new stop and search powers to tackle known knife and weapons carriers, place a duty on public sector bodies – including police, education and health agencies – to take a joined-up approach to addressing serious violence, and require local agencies to review the circumstances when a homicide takes place involving offensive weapons, such as knives.
This funding builds on the unprecedented work that the Government is doing to tackle serious violence in our communities. With £105 million already invested in Violence Reduction Units – supporting over 100,000 young people, increasing police recruitment and our work to get dangerous weapons off the streets via Serious Violence Reduction Orders, we are delivering on our promise to keep the public safe by making our communities safer for the British public.
