A key part in My Plan to make our streets safe again is to combat knife crime and violent crime generally. Tackling these threats to our safety is a big job with many challenges, but I am determined to face up to the task. This will include:
- Using stop and search. I will ensure that the police have the political support that they need to deploy stop and search and other tactics on the streets that are needed to crack down on the carrying and use of knives.
- Improve police officer training. It is crucial that police officers present evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service and in court in the correct format to ensure that a conviction is secured.
- Tackling county line and drug gangs. A large proportion of knife crime in our towns is linked to drug gangs and the trade in illegal drugs.
- Steering youngsters away from crime. It is a sad fact that children growing up in a certain demographic are more likely to take to crime than others. I will support schemes and programmes with a proven track record of success in steering teenagers away from crime.
- Lobbying government. I want to see consistency in sentencing and stiffer sentences for knife crime.
- Work with partners in the criminal justice system. I will work with the Crown Prosecution Service, judiciary and other partners to speed up justice and get cases to court quicker.
Violence against women and girls is a despicable crime that comes in many guises. As part of my campaign to make our streets safe again, I have been supporting the police and community groups who are working with victims of domestic abuse, rape and other sexual violence.
- Victim Support. My office funds the Victim First programme which provides emotional and practical help to victims of VAWG;
- Safer Streets. I dedicated hundreds of thousands of pounds to improve the safety of streets and parks where women had reported crimes such as stalking, assault and theft.
- Violence Reduction Network. I support and fund the work of the Violence Reduction Network, which targets perpetrators of VAWG to deter them from reoffending.
- Funding Women's Groups. I have ensured that my office targets funding at those groups which provide real benefits to women and girls who have been the victims of violence.
Photo shows me inspecting some of the high-tech equipment at Juniper Lodge that is used to gather evidence against men guilty of sexual violence.
Photo shows: A knife arch deployed in central Leicester to catch those carrying bladed weapons.
