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Local Work on Youth Knife Crime to be Replicated Nationally
Operation Deter Youth is a pioneering programme that sees rapid intervention from Youth Justice Services for young people under the age of 18 arrested for knife-possession or knife-enabled offences in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Milton Keynes, spearheaded by Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber.
Now the Home Office has announced a new initiative that will see young people caught carrying knives given targeted support to steer them away from further offending.
Government bans ninja swords
We should not lose sight of the fact that most weapons used by criminals are normal household knives. Dealing with individual types of weapons is helpful, but there is no substitute for a robust policing response and continued work to prevent people carrying knives in the first place.
Funding boost to tackle and prevent serious violence in the Thames Valley
Serious violence and knife enabled crime is falling in the Thames Valley, but further work is taking place to prevent it. The funding, made up of two grants, the Serious Violence Duty Grant and the Violence Reduction Unit Grant will be administered by the PCC to local partners to support Thames Valley communities.