Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction in police numbers on levels of knife crime in England and Wales.

On 9 April 2018, the Government published the Serious Violence Strategy to set out the action it is taking to address serious violence and in particular the recent increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide. The Strategy is taking a multi-strand approach. Law enforcement is very important, but it also depends on partnerships across a number of sectors, such as education, health, social services, housing, youth services, victim services and others.

Our analysis highlights that a major factor behind the recent increases in serious violence is changes in the drugs markets. The strategy says that law enforcement plays a vital role in tackling these offences, but big shifts in crime tend to be driven by factors outside the police’s control such as drug market changes.

Police have the resources they need to carry out their vital work. In 2017, the Policing Minister visited and spoke to every police force in England and Wales about the demands on policing. That is why we have provided a strong and comprehensive funding settlement that will increase funding by £460m from 2018/19, including £280m of direct funding raised through increases in Council Tax precept which police forces can spend locally. Decisions about frontline policing, and how resources are best deployed, are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable Police and Crime Commissioners.

The strategy sets out action that is being taken to address knife crime. This includes the national knife crime media campaign, #knifefree, to raise awareness of the consequences of knife crime among young people and to encourage them to take up positive activities. We will continue to encourage police forces in England and Wales to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. We also announced up to £1million for a new round of the anti-knife crime Community Fund on 18 May which will invite bids for funding from community groups to tackle knife crime.