Shocked that Leicestershire was not granted funding from the Home Office Early Intervention Youth Fund, Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Lord Willy Bach has tabled a question in the House of Lords for tomorrow.
His question reads:
“Lord Bach to ask HMG what steps they intend to take to strengthen the ability of police forces in England and Wales to tackle knife and other serious and violent crime in addition to funding provided by the Early Intervention Youth Fund.”
Willy Bach said today: “Earlier this week the Home Secretary announced that 19 PCCs and their forces across England and Wales will receive £17.7 million over two years to divert children and young people away from violent crime.
“I was absolutely astonished to see that the bid from Leicestershire, alongside those from the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire forces, had been ignored. These are the three biggest police forces in the East Midlands, serving around 3.5m people. They are not exempt from the problem of youth violence, but they have been disregarded.
“All three PCCs from these forces have invested resources and support to tackle violent crime, especially amongst young people, and additional Government funding would have done a lot to help the success of those initiatives.
“I want to know what the Home Office intends to do to help divert young people away from gangs, violence and other criminal activities in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. It’s imperative to influence young people’s behaviour as early as possible, so I recognise the value of this Early Intervention Fund. However, I am astounded that not one of these three East Midlands forces have received a portion of the funding available.
“I will do everything in my power to address this disparity.”
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Posted on Wednesday 14th November 2018