Crime plan invests in measures to tackle youth violence
Derren Hayes
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Schools and hospitals in violent crime hotspot areas will receive additional funding to prevent youth violence under new measures announced by the government.
The Beating Crime Plan, announced by Home Secretary Priti Patel today, includes £45m in specialist support for education settings to prevent violence, and an additional £17m for Violence Reduction Units (VRU) to divert those at greatest risk.
Funding for education settings will pay for mental health professionals, family workers, and speech and language therapists in mainstream schools and alternative provision in serious violence hotspots to support young people at risk of involvement in violence to re-engage in education.
VRUs will use the money to provide high-intensity therapeutic and specialist support from youth workers, including at crisis points such as when a young person is being admitted to hospital A&E departments with a knife injury or upon arrest, to divert them away from violence.
The plan will also see the removal of restrictions on how police employ stop-and-search powers – these were introduced in 2014 to tackle their disproportionate use against people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.
The government says relaxing conditions on the use of stop and search powers will empower police to take more knives off the streets. However, children’s charities and youth justice experts have warned the decision could lead to more young people who are being exploited by gangs entering the justice system and becoming criminalised.
Hannah Smithson, Professor of criminology and youth justice and director of the Manchester Centre for Youth Studies, at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “Easing Section 60 rules is likely to increase racial discrimination, criminalise more children - particularly young black men, erode trust in the police and exacerbate marginality.
“If this doesn’t provide a strong enough counter-argument to the government’s plans, surely knowing that there is no evidence to suggest that stop and search is an effective means of reducing violence, is powerful enough."
The plan spans work across the police, courts, prison and probation service to reduce and prevent crime, rehabilitate offenders and create the safer streets and neighbours. A particular focus is given to early intervention, prevention and practical measures, and to tackle serious violence and neighbourhood crimes.
Other measures include:
- Expanding the use of electronic monitoring
- Trialling the use of alcohol tags – which detect alcohol in the sweat of offenders guilty of drink-fuelled crime – on prison leavers in Wales
- Making unpaid work more visible by getting offenders to clean up streets, alleys, estates, and open spaces
- Rolling out two further rounds of the Safer Streets Fund to increase the safety of public spaces through increased lighting and CCTV
- Enhancing the role for Police and Crime Commissioners to equip them with the tools they need to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour
Patel said: “We’re putting 20,000 new police officers on the street, equipping them with new powers to catch criminals and take away knives, and shutting down drug gangs who exploit children and the vulnerable to make money.
“This plan sets out a clear path for a better future for the British public – one with less crime, fewer victims, and a safer society for all.”
As part of its response to Dame Carol Black’s review of drugs, the government has also announced that it plans to expand Project ADDER – an innovative, new approach which combines law enforcement with increased provision of treatment and recovery services – to eight more local authorities. Backed by an additional £31m, this will allow the police to target local gang leaders driving the drugs trade while better helping people to recover from addictions.
Iryna Pona, policy manager at The Children’s Society, said more help needs to be provided for young people “before they end up being rushed into A&E fighting for their lives”.
“We want to see a long-term plan for investment in early help for children at the first signs that they are vulnerable to being groomed - short-term limited resources do not go far enough in providing the solutions needed across the county,” she said.
“Greater investment in early intervention needs to be a key part of a coherent national strategy setting out the government’s approach to tackling child criminal exploitation.
“We welcome recent funding to help police go after the criminals grooming children so it’s vital the planned relaxation of stop and search powers isn’t used to criminalise young people found with weapons if they are being exploited.
“These young people may be living in fear for their lives and may have armed themselves for protection or because they are expected to use violence to defend and expand the areas controlled by an organised crime group. What they need is help to address the reasons why they are carrying weapons and to escape this nightmare.”
Earlier this year, the government announced £130m of funding to tackle youth violence.