The Police and Crime Commissioner has welcomed the announcement today of an additional £7m over three years.
The funding, awarded to the Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) from the Home Office Serious Violence Fund, will be used to support efforts to prevent and tackle serious violence and knife crime.
There are two separate allocations for the funding:
£5m over three years for the VRU’s programme of work to prevent young people being drawn into crime- Funding diversion programmes, education and mentoring work in schools and early intervention.
More than £2m over three years from the “Grip” fund- This fund supports TVP in delivering additional proactive policing operations which target those areas with the highest levels of serious violence and those people who are committing violent crime and carrying weapons.
The Thames Valley VRU is a partnership body, one of 20 formed in 2019.
The partnership body brings together representatives from TVP, local authorities, education, health, youth offending, probation and prison services and the voluntary and community sector.
Welcoming the funding, Matthew Barber, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley, said: “Tackling serious violence and knife crime remains a priority for the police, our partners and the communities we serve.
“This is a hugely welcome announcement, not only as it commits an additional £7m to support our efforts, but as it gives us budget confidence for the next three years. This allows us to plan and invest for the longer-term, which will lead to more effective and sustainable work.”
Deputy Chief Constable Jason Hogg, Thames Valley Police, said: “Our officers and staff are committed to keeping all our communities in the Thames Valley safe and we continue to work closely with the Violence Reduction Unit to deliver the policing response to serious violence and knife crime.
“Serious violence, including knife crime, is down 12% year-to-date across the Thames Valley. We are having success, but we know we cannot let up.
“This latest funding further supports our work to intervene earlier and prevent violence from occurring in the first place, while my officers continue to bear down upon those small number of people who carry and use weapons, particularly young people.”
Stan Gilmour, the Director of the Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit, said: “Since the Violence Reduction Unit was established three years ago we have made real progress. We are often seen as leading the way and as innovators with our initiatives.
“This comes from working across all partners, not just policing. Together, we take a public health approach, preventing violence like you would a disease, through earlier intervention and supporting young people to divert them away from crime.
“Three more years of funding will allow us to develop and embed programmes which can have real impact, working with our communities to keep the Thames Valley safe.”
The Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit must now develop an application against the two grants to fund activity for the next year.
The news comes after a week of violent crime in Milton Keynes.
MKFM has invited Ben Everitt MP, Iain Stewart MP, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Matthew Barber and the Leader of Milton Keynes Council Peter Marland, who have all agreed to talk to MKFM in an exclusive series of on-air interviews.
The on-air interviews will begin on Monday with the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police, Matthew Barber.
Listen to our special broadcasts everyday next week from Monday 4th April until Friday 8th April at 7pm daily where we will be asking your questions.
Submit your questions here - Are you concerned about crime in Milton Keynes? Submit your questions to MKFM
