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Google to fund charities to tackle youth violence

Internet giant Google will provide grants totalling £600,000 to charities and community organisations as part of efforts to tackle violent crime, it has been announced.

The fund, which is backed by the London Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC), will help London-based organisations and communities deal with the challenges of how young and at-risk people use social media, and how professionals support them. 

Knife crime levels have been rising in recent years, with official figures published in October showing that police recorded more than 41,000 knife or "sharp instrument" offences across England and Wales in the 12 months leading up to June - the highest number on record.

At the same time, concerns have been growing about the role of social media and music videos, often hosted on YouTube which is owned by Google, which some see as glamorising drug dealing and murder.

In May Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick singled out drill music as a cause, which often has lyrics describing drug taking and violence, and asked YouTube to delete such content.

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