Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston has welcomed a new plan to help reduce the risk of people being drawn into violence and to protect communities from the wider impact of serious violence.

The ‘Serious Violence Partnership Strategy’ published at the end of January formalises how local partners will work together to prevent and reduce serious violence in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The publication of the strategy comes on the back of the new Serious Violence Duty introduced in January 2023 by government through its Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.

The Duty requires local agencies to share data and information to help identify the types of serious violence that occur locally and to determine what causes these to take place.

The Commissioner is working with a host of key partners including the Police, Probation, Youth Offending Teams, local authorities, the Integrated Care Board, and the Fire and Rescue Service to increase provision for young people to address risk-taking behaviour, prevent violence and reduce their vulnerability to exploitation.

Darryl said: “Serious violence, including that linked to knife crime, drugs, and County Lines, has a devastating impact on the lives of victims, their families, and the wider community. While Cambridgeshire and Peterborough do not experience the same levels of violence as other areas of the country, sadly, we are not immune to it.

“As stated in my Police and Crime Plan, I am a firm believer that prevention is always better than cure. Prevention, cannot, however, be achieved by policing alone. To make a lasting impact on the lives of our young people, we, as a local partnership, must work collaboratively, use our individual expertise to greatest effect, and support intervention at the earliest possible opportunity.

“Through the Home Office Serious Violence Duty funding, local partners have begun delivering a range of interventions that aim to prevent and reduce serious violence. I particularly welcome the increased provision for our young people and am encouraged by how positively the programmes that are already underway have been engaged with.”

Through the plan, agencies will work together to raise awareness of serious violence and the risks it brings to individuals (whether victims, offenders or witnesses), communities, and those delivering services. Work will also focus on early intervention, particularly among young people and those who may be at increased risk.

Assistant Chief Constable Vicki Evans said: “Prevention is at the heart of reducing serious violence, and it is vital we focus our collective efforts to tackle the causes of this harm in our community. Within Cambridgeshire and Peterborough we have extensive existing partnership arrangements, therefore the new Serious Violence Partnership Strategy builds on this work and is an opportunity for local partnerships to work together and with our communities to help keep them safe.  

“We know that prevention and problem-solving work in the partnership arena is an excellent tool to tackle challenging issues such as Serious Violence involving young people or linked to drugs. I look forward to seeing the impact that this coordinated activity will have on reducing harm in our communities.”

Sharon Ward, Serious Violence Duty Coordinator, added: “This is such an important area for partners across the county addressing how we can prevent and reduce serious violence in our communities. By taking a step back and looking at how and why people (young and old) get involved in serious violence in the first place as victims or offenders, we can then look at what we can do together as a system to stop this from happening.

“Working across organisations in this way enables us to really make a difference to people’s lives within our communities, making their day-to-day life safer and better.”

In 2023-24 the PCC has awarded £350,000 of Home Office serious violence funding to a range of projects designed to keep communities and young people safe and prevent them from being involved in violence through early intervention. The projects underway include:

• Additional specialist support from youth workers working with young people in local communities.
• Knife Crime Awareness Project in Peterborough, working with local groups and Cambridgeshire Constabulary to educate, promote discussion, and raise awareness of the risks associated with knife crime.
• Firebreak programmes with young people to engage them in practical and scenario-based skills training exercises linked to firefighting, while raising awareness of the risks associated with knife crime, arson, drug use and county lines.
• A series of resources being developed to raise awareness and educate parents/guardians if they have concerns about their child’s behaviour or potential connection to county lines.
• Knife crime awareness workshops in HMP Peterborough to address the causes and consequences of knife-related incidents, to prevent reoffending.

In 2024/25 the PCC expects to award nearly £600,000 further Home Office serious violence funding to build on this work. For example, across each community safety partnership area, proposals are being developed for after school diversionary activity.

For more information visit: Serious Violence Partnership Strategy - January 2024.

You can find out more about what information and support is available in relation to concerns about knife crime, county lines and exploitation through the Cambridgeshire Constabulary website: https://www.cambs.police.uk/ and also through the Cambs Against County Lines partnership.

https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/cambs-against-county-lines