A sizable new commitment to the Early Intervention Youth Fund (EIYF) has been announced by the Home Office on July 30. The government is ready to spend £22 million — twice the amount it originally allocated — for the implementation of its Serious Violence Strategy. The policy is meant to tackle county lines and misuse of drugs and enforce early intervention and prevention of crime.
More projects to steer young people away from serious violence will be supported by the government after Home Secretary @sajidjavid announced the doubling of the early intervention youth fund.
— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) July 30, 2018
Find out more: https://t.co/XZCvO6tdY2 pic.twitter.com/4Vwoejo3fL
EIYF is part of the Strategy and aims to reducing the levels of serious violence and crime in the United Kingdom — something the government has been desperately trying to achieve amid high murder rate and cases of young people getting stabbed and shot in London and other parts of the country.
READ MORE: Teenager Dumped & Left to Die As London Mayor Launches Anti-Knife Crime Campaign
"Intervening early in the lives of vulnerable young people can help focus their talents on positive activities and steer them away from the dangers of serious violence. This is why we are doubling our Early Intervention Youth Fund to £22 million. The fund will support groups at the heart of our communities who educate and interact with youths — and provide them with an alternative to crime. We all need to work together to tackle this worrying issue and our Serious Violence Strategy is helping this joined-up approach," Mr. Javid said in a statement.
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) who work in partnership with Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) or the equivalent will be able to bid for funding to deliver projects which steer young people away from violent crime.
Reduction of violent and exploitative criminal activity has been high on the political agenda in Britain for some time now. Police authorities have indicated in the past that austerity measures by the government have led to increase in violent crime. Previous Home Secretary Amber Rudd during her term came under scrutiny for inability to mend the situation, and the London mayor Sadiq Khan has been recently accused of "failing" to tackle the issue.
READ MORE: Two Teens Shot in Northwestern London — Police
In his effort to deliver some sort of progress in Britain's battle with youth and overall crime, Sajid Javid has now pledged another 11 million pounds to the EIYF, which — according to the government — "will allow communities to intervene early in the lives of more vulnerable young people."
APCC Chair @WestYorksOPCC has welcomed the launch of the £22m Early Intervention Youth Fund. PCCs will have a key role in guiding and supporting local applications for this fund: https://t.co/EwLDjxXdtv https://t.co/lmd3Bn4hID
— Association of PCCs (@AssocPCCs) July 30, 2018
According to 2018 policing statistics, the Metropolitan Police in London had the highest overall rate of stop and search, at 17 incidents for every 1,000 people. Attacks using knives or other sharp instruments in England and Wales have risen by 16 percent to 40,147 in 2018 from the previous year.
READ MORE: Crime Rising in UK, Ending Decades-Long Trend, as Police Numbers Keep Going Down
