PCC awards £800,000 funding to tackle youth violence and knife crime
The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has awarded £800,000 to 14 organisations across the Thames Valley to deliver projects to tackle youth violence, knife crime and exploitation.
The work will be delivered in partnership with a range of organisations including Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs), Youth Offending Teams (YOTs), Youth Service providers, Local Authorities and Secondary Schools, as well as community and voluntary groups.
The programme includes a range of interventions, from raising awareness of youth violence and exploitation across secondary schools to targeted intervention with young people already involved in gangs and knife crime.
Matthew Barber, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner said ““Given the recent increase in knife crime, we need to look at what more we can do to protect young people from violence and exploitation and how we can work even more closely in partnership with both statutory and community organisations to try to reverse this trend.
“I hope that these projects we’ve funded will help tackle this issue by working with young people at both ends of the spectrum of youth violence; from early intervention programmes to identify and support those at risk of involvement in knife crime, gangs or drug dealing to supporting those young people already involved; helping them turn their lives around through intensive support and skills training.
“I believe that projects such as these make a real difference to the lives of individuals and communities as a whole and I look forward to seeing these activities progress over the coming months.””
Find our more information by visiting my website.
How Thames Valley Police are tackling knife crime
Last week I spoke at length to the BBC about the rise in knife crime in the Thames Valley, how we compare with other areas of the country that have hit the headline and what the Force and the PCC are doing to tackle the problem. Part of that effort is the Early Youth Intervention Fund as detailed above.
Increased stop and search and the recruitment of more police officers are also part of the picture. You can read more about my interview on my website.
Thames Valley Police are actively targeting knife crime and those who carry knives in the latest phase of Operation Sceptre.
As part of this national operation, a knife surrender bin are available this week at 16 police stations across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire for members of the public to dispose of knives up until Sunday 17th March.
Sign up for Thames Valley Alert
Thames Valley Alert is the community messaging system for Thames Valley Police, allowing residents to sign up to receive local information on incidents in and around their area.
You can sign up to Thames Valley Alert via email, text, or even receive voice messages about what’s happening in your local area.
The service is completely tailored to you, so you can choose what sort of alerts to receive – whether you’d like:
- news on local incidents
- community news
- to be alerted to significant or high priority messages
When you sign up to Thames Valley Alert (a free service) you'll be given login details that allow you to change your settings at any time. There's also a business watch service and a country watch service.
If you’d like to sign up to Thames Valley Alert, you can:
- join via the Thames Valley Alert website, or
- download the free Thames Valley Alert app by visiting the Apple store or Google Play store
If you already have an Alerts account, you can sign into the app with the same login details.
Thames Valley PCC is recruiting
The Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner is currently recruiting a new Communications and Engagement Officer. Details of the role and how to apply can be found on the recruitment pages of the PCC's website by clicking here.
We are also always open to expressions of interest in joining our Custody Visiting Scheme. For more information and the application from please visit Custody Visiting.
Matthew Barber selected to stand as PCC in 2020
After a series of meetings held across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, Conservative Party Members last night confirmed Matthew Barber as the Party's candidate to become the next Police & Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley.
Anthony Stansfeld has been the first ever PCC having been elected in 2012. He is standing down at next May's elections. Matthew Barber has served as Anthony's Deputy for more than two years and has now been selected by the Conservative Party to fight next year's elections.
Speaking after the final hustings meeting Matthew said:
"I am honoured and delighted to have been selected this evening as your Conservative candidate to be Police & Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley in 2020.
There is already a great deal of work underway across our three great counties to make the public safer, reduce crime and improve the criminal justice system, but there is always more to do.
I will tirelessly represent the people of the Thames Valley and deliver my vision for strong local policing and clear leadership to make our communities safer."
The PCC elections take place on 7th May 2020.
