Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews has praised relentless efforts to tackle serious violence and knife crime across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland which have set the force apart from its national colleagues.
As Operation Sceptre gets underway to tackle knife crime across England and Wales, the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland PCC confirmed that Leicestershire Police has been flagged as a ‘positive outlier' for its proactive approach to reducing knife crime and serious violence. This is official recognition that the Commissioner's ongoing drive to push down knife crime, prioritised in his Police and Crime Plan, is delivering positive results.
The force, which works collaboratively with the PCC and the partnership behind the Violence Reduction Network (VRN) has achieved a significant reduction in serious violence across the county in comparison to other areas according to the Home Office's Early Warning System (EWS).
The EWS measures police forces on their performance against National Crime and Policing Measures (NCPM) including those aimed at targeting serious violence, homicide and neighbourhood crime.
The Police and wider VRN partnership will now be asked to share details of their approach and interventions with the College of Policing to help other policing partners address serious violence.
It comes as the Police and VRN highlighted the far-reaching work underway across the city and two counties to reduce serious violence and knife crime.
This includes the delivery of ‘hotspot policing' patrols at 18 key locations across the force area targeting serious violence and the roll out of powerful campaigns to raise awareness of knife crime and serious violence and its impact such as ‘We Don't Carry: Lives Not Knives Campaign' and the launch of the Live Safe Resources website providing resources and advice for young people and their parents/carers on issues relating to young people's safety.
Mr Matthews said: "Clearly, this recognition is hugely encouraging for everybody. It shows that the police and our partners are working effectively to prevent knife crime and serious violence and eliminate the needless loss of lives on our streets. Importantly it reinforces the fact that hard work and commitment are paying off for the residents of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
"I'm pleased that this work also has the potential to support other forces in their approach to protecting young people from becoming victims and perpetrators of violence in the future.
"Serious violence destroys many lives, from individuals and families through to entire communities. The root causes are also complex and multi-layered. It makes sense to take a united approach to tackling the risks so that our efforts are more effective and clearly this is proving successful.
"Of course, there is much more to do. One life lost is one too many and we will continue to work together to tackle these issues head-on, drawing on our past successes as a platform for further improvement."
Grace Strong, VRN Director, added: "I welcome this acknowledgement from the Home Office. Without a doubt the progress we have made is due to the unwavering determination and action which our partners, including communities, are taking to prevent and reduce violence in our area.
"The VRN partnership, which includes the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC), Leicestershire Police, our communities, and a range of other agencies, has been working hard since it was established in 2019. These results show that by all playing our role and adopting an evidence-based approach, we can make a difference.
"Whilst it is welcome news, it is essential that we continue to focus on tackling the causes and consequence of violence and do everything we can to keep all our young people and communities safe."
Earlier this year, the PCC and VRN collaborated on the Community Fund: Diversion from Anti-Social Behaviour reflecting their shared commitment to prevention and early intervention to keep young people safe.
This saw the allocation of £200k to 12 community providers to deliver diversionary activities for children and young people aged 25 and under across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Through the Home Office's GRIP programme, Leicestershire Police conducts regular visible policing patrols in 18 hotspots across the city and two counties, utilising a problem-solving approach to address environmental factors that increase the risk of offending. This involves working with local authorities and businesses to address issues such as CCTV coverage and lighting.
Meanwhile the VRN runs a Schools Network to ensure education providers have the information and resources they need to support its violence prevention work. Knife crime awareness sessions, delivered by the force, are available to all secondary schools and routinely reach approximately 10,000 students a year.
Other programmes, including the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), train students as mentors, equipping them with the confidence, knowledge and skills to identify and speak out against bullying, abusive behaviour and violence.
Operation Sceptre is a week-long police crackdown taking place between November 13 and 20 aimed at tackling knife crime across Britain.
