PCC statement following the announcement of £100m being allocated to police forces across the country to tackle knife crime

13 March 2019

Reacting to the announcement by The Chancellor in the Spring Statement that £100m has been allocated to police forces across the country to tackle knife crime, Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and lead PCC on Serious Violence, said:

"Any additional funding to tackle knife and violent crime is to be welcomed. I have long advocated a whole system approach and the proposed investment in new violent crime reduction units is an important step forward.

"I will be working closely with the Home Office, West Yorkshire Police and partners to help coordinate how this funding is to be spent productively, whilst aligning with projects already running here in West Yorkshire such as those funded through the Home Office Early Intervention Youth Fund (EIYF) and my Safer Communities Fund (SCF) which I have helped co-ordinate.

"In the meantime, in order to protect our communities, I will continue to build a compelling case for increases in central police funding to increase capacity and allow for further investment in crime prevention, in the forthcoming comprehensive spending review. Which will be crucial in sustaining a long term approach to reducing knife and violent crime generally."