Specialist training for schools in areas considered knife-crime hotspots
Over a million pounds is going to be spent on tackling knife crime in schools
Specialist training is going to be offered in schools in areas considered knife-crime hotspots as part of Government efforts to divert children away from a life of crime.
A £1.2 million investment is planned to provide specialist training in up to 250 schools in areas most affected by knife crime, with more intensive and tailored support provided to up to 50 of these schools.
This investment is intended to fund measures such as mentoring for high-risk students and the deployment of chaperones on school routes.
The Safety In & Around Schools Partnership will train school leaders on knife-crime risk and develop local solutions to improve pupil safety and prevent serious violence.
David Lammy, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, said: “We know that targeted prevention makes a real difference, reaching young people before violence does, giving them trusted adults to turn to and the support they need to choose a different path.
“This funding will help schools do exactly that: protect children and build the safer streets every community deserves.
“I am determined that this Government will be the one that finally turns the tide on knife crime, through the kind of sustained, co-ordinated action that gives the next generation a genuine chance.”
New hyperlocal mapping technology, developed by the Home Office, will pinpoint knife-crime hotspots down to 0.1 square kilometres.
This system will allow police to identify where knife crime is highest, particularly during school commuting hours, to decide which schools could benefit most from the intervention.
Sarah Jones, crime and policing minister, said: “No child should fear walking to school. That is why we must prevent violence from ever occurring.
“With the right support, the right opportunities and the right interventions in the right places, we can prevent harm long before a young person finds themselves in danger.”
The Safety In & Around Schools Partnership is being delivered by the Youth Endowment Fund, with support from the Department for Education, Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.
It comes as the first wave of youth hubs aimed at giving young people support with jobs and wellbeing are set to open across England, with facilities located in Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, County Durham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Tower Hamlets.
The centres will help young people aged up to 18 with employment advice, health and wellbeing, and are also aimed at preventing them from falling into a life of crime.
Areas of high anti-social behaviour have been targeted for the first wave of the hubs, but they will be among 50 which will open across the country.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused Labour of having “a massive cheek” making its announcement while cutting total police numbers.
He said: “In London, they even scrapped dedicated police officers in schools completely – and now they claim to be worried about the resulting school crime. They created this mess in the first place with their police cuts.”
Pledging that his party would “go further and be tougher”, Mr Philp said the Conservatives would have “zero tolerance” for violence or serious disruption in schools.
Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman Jess Brown-Fuller said: “Too many young lives have been lost to knife crime and schools have been crying out for further support to tackle it, but these measures alone won’t be enough to end the plight.
“The Government needs to focus on returning to proper community policing where people know their local officer, and ensure that right across the country young people have access to youth services.”