Mentions:
1: Baroness Brinton (LD - Life peer) or other serious crimes including domestic violence and stalking. - Speech Link
2: Baroness Newlove (Con - Life peer) We have heard about the level of violence—firebombs and everything else. - Speech Link
3: Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-affiliated - Life peer) Knife crime is often committed by under-18s. - Speech Link
4: Lord Garnier (Con - Life peer) serious violence and the victims of domestic burglary. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Helen Hayes (Lab - Dulwich and West Norwood) Ronaldo Scott—those are the names of those who have lost their lives to knife crime in my constituency - Speech Link
Jan. 19 2024
Source Page: Criminal Justice Bill: Keeling schedulesFound: An offence under section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, in respect of a child
Written Evidence Jan. 19 2024
Inquiry: Children, young people and the built environmentFound: CBE0018 - Children, young people and the built environment Living Streets Written Evidence
Written Evidence Jan. 19 2024
Inquiry: Children, young people and the built environmentFound: CBE0091 - Children, young people and the built environment Professor Helen Lomax Written Evidence
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle knife crime in Solihull constituency.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling knife crime and violent assaults is a priority and the Government is determined to crack down on the scourge of violence devastating our communities.
As a result of the Government’s Police Uplift Programme (PUP) the West Midlands Force recruited 1,376 additional uplift officers against a total three-year allocation of 1,218 officers. On 31 March 2023, there were 8,067 police officers in West Midlands, a total growth of 1,376 additional officers against the baseline (6,691) at the start of the Police Uplift Programme.
The Government is proposing a total police funding settlement of up to £18.4 billion in 2024-25, an increase of up to £842.9 million when compared to 2023-24. Assuming full take up of precept flexibility, overall police funding available to PCCs will increase by up to £922.2 million (6.0% in cash terms). West Midlands funding will be up to £789.4 million for 2024/25, an increase of up to £50 million when compared to 2023/24.
West Midlands Police are delivering additional policing in their areas worst affected by serious violence via the Grip programme funding, including in Solihull City Centre. This is a combination of regular visible patrols in the streets and neighbourhoods (‘hotspot areas’) experiencing the highest volumes of serious violence to immediately suppress violence and provide community reassurance, and problem-oriented policing. Problem-oriented policing is bespoke to the local areas to tackle the local underlying drivers of crime, using a more comprehensive menu of policing interventions and enforcement. Interventions in the Force area have included targeted open space knife sweeps, knife crime education in schools, and conducting safeguarding referrals. Grip-funded analysts monitor operational police activity within the hotspots, as well as crime levels, to understand the effects of additional patrols on violent crime.
Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) bring together local partners to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area. They facilitate the sharing of data across organisational boundaries to build a shared understanding of the root causes of violence locally.
In the West Midlands its VRU delivers a range of preventative interventions, including Hospital and Custody Navigators (youth workers in settings steering young people away from violence at a ‘teachable moment’), cognitive behavioural therapy programmes and sports-based diversionary programmes.
Violence Reduction Units, in combination with Grip, have delivered a statistically significant reduction in hospital admissions for violent injuries since funding began in 2019 (an estimated 3,220 admissions have been prevented in areas where the programmes operate). VRUs have supported over 271,000 young people through funded initiatives in in their fourth year of operation alone.
We also recently consulted on new legislative proposals to tackle knife crime and as a result, in the Criminal Justice Bill, we have introduced provisions to provide more powers for police to seize knives held in private that could be used in crimes, increase the maximum penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under 18s. When Parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to introduce a new ban on zombie-style machetes and knives.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle violent assaults in Solihull constituency.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling knife crime and violent assaults is a priority and the Government is determined to crack down on the scourge of violence devastating our communities.
As a result of the Government’s Police Uplift Programme (PUP) the West Midlands Force recruited 1,376 additional uplift officers against a total three-year allocation of 1,218 officers. On 31 March 2023, there were 8,067 police officers in West Midlands, a total growth of 1,376 additional officers against the baseline (6,691) at the start of the Police Uplift Programme.
The Government is proposing a total police funding settlement of up to £18.4 billion in 2024-25, an increase of up to £842.9 million when compared to 2023-24. Assuming full take up of precept flexibility, overall police funding available to PCCs will increase by up to £922.2 million (6.0% in cash terms). West Midlands funding will be up to £789.4 million for 2024/25, an increase of up to £50 million when compared to 2023/24.
West Midlands Police are delivering additional policing in their areas worst affected by serious violence via the Grip programme funding, including in Solihull City Centre. This is a combination of regular visible patrols in the streets and neighbourhoods (‘hotspot areas’) experiencing the highest volumes of serious violence to immediately suppress violence and provide community reassurance, and problem-oriented policing. Problem-oriented policing is bespoke to the local areas to tackle the local underlying drivers of crime, using a more comprehensive menu of policing interventions and enforcement. Interventions in the Force area have included targeted open space knife sweeps, knife crime education in schools, and conducting safeguarding referrals. Grip-funded analysts monitor operational police activity within the hotspots, as well as crime levels, to understand the effects of additional patrols on violent crime.
Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) bring together local partners to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area. They facilitate the sharing of data across organisational boundaries to build a shared understanding of the root causes of violence locally.
In the West Midlands its VRU delivers a range of preventative interventions, including Hospital and Custody Navigators (youth workers in settings steering young people away from violence at a ‘teachable moment’), cognitive behavioural therapy programmes and sports-based diversionary programmes.
Violence Reduction Units, in combination with Grip, have delivered a statistically significant reduction in hospital admissions for violent injuries since funding began in 2019 (an estimated 3,220 admissions have been prevented in areas where the programmes operate). VRUs have supported over 271,000 young people through funded initiatives in in their fourth year of operation alone.
We also recently consulted on new legislative proposals to tackle knife crime and as a result, in the Criminal Justice Bill, we have introduced provisions to provide more powers for police to seize knives held in private that could be used in crimes, increase the maximum penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under 18s. When Parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to introduce a new ban on zombie-style machetes and knives.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to introduce a Violence Reduction Unit within the Dorset constabulary to tackle knife crime in Bournemouth.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring that the police have the resources they need to tackle violent crime. That is why I have recently confirmed Dorset’s police funding settlement of £179.8 million in 2024/25, an increase of up to £11.1 million when compared to 2023/24. In addition, in recognition of recent exceptional policing demand arising in Bournemouth, I am pleased to have recently approved, on an exceptional basis, an additional £600k in 23/24 to enable Dorset Police to respond to this pressure.
Serious Violence is strongly linked to specific geographies, and, to ensure maximum impact, Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) funding is accordingly allocated in accordance with volumes of serious violence (as measured by hospital admissions relating to injury with a sharp object). This means that Violence Reduction Unit funding is allocated to 20 Police Force Areas, not including Dorset, which collectively account for around 80% of total relevant admissions.
However, the Government also recognises that a preventative approach to tackling violence will also benefit in other parts of England and Wales with lower levels of violent crime and that is why we have introduced the Serious Violence Duty, which requires relevant agencies to work in partnership to tackle violence. Funding has also been provided to support implementation of the duty (for Dorset amounting to £292kin the 23/24, with funding continuing in 24/25) which can be used to support delivery of a Violence Reduction Unit based approach in Dorset.
Mentions:
1: None Set against population growth, that is a huge reduction in this crime, which meant that multiple hundreds - Speech Link
2: Alex Norris (LAB - Nottingham North) When citing the statistics on crime reduction that the Minister cited in his opening speech, about which - Speech Link
3: Chris Philp (Con - Croydon South) When we talk about a 56% reduction in crime since 2010 to on a like-for-like basis, which I am sure I - Speech Link
4: Alex Norris (LAB - Nottingham North) Knife crime is a scourge in this country. It devastates communities and families. - Speech Link
5: Alex Norris (LAB - Nottingham North) on broader knife crime, is whether they would take off the streets a weapon like the one that killed - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) That is why we are funding over 1,000 independent sexual violence advisers and independent domestic violence - Speech Link
2: Julie Marson (Con - Hertford and Stortford) , but that the crime fits the crime? - Speech Link
3: Chris Law (SNP - Dundee West) I am pleased to say that the latest Scottish crime and justice survey has shown that the volume of crime - Speech Link
4: Alex Chalk (Con - Cheltenham) We of course welcome any reduction in crime, and I am happy to congratulate Police Scotland on its work - Speech Link