West Midlands Police given £7m funding boost to tackle violent crime
West Midlands Police is set to receive more than £7 million from the government to tackle violent crime in the region.
More than £12 million will be handed out to 18 police forces across the country dealing with high levels of violent crime - as part of the £100 million Serious Violence Fund.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid has announced that £12.4 million will be distributed overall across the country – with West Midlands Police to receive more than half of that – meaning forces can 'take urgent action'.
It comes after £51 million was announced for the forces before Easter for extra officer deployments, improved intelligence, and short-term operational actions such as targeting knife carriers.
The announcement was made ahead of the first meeting of a new Ministerial Taskforce on Serious Youth Violence, chaired by the Prime Minister, in Downing Street today.
Mr Javid said: "I’ve been doing everything in my power to ensure we have the strongest possible response to tackle violent crime - and law enforcement plays a key role in this.
“This money means forces can take urgent action, including more officers on duty in the worst affected areas.
“It takes a collective effort to tackle violent crime and I’ll continue to work closely with police and partners to end this senseless bloodshed.”
West Midlands Police will benefit from an extra £7.62 million surge funding to tackle serious violence. This is on top of the £568.8 million the force is receiving as a result of the Police Funding Settlement for 2019/20, including council tax – an increase of £34.4m from last year.
The boost coincides with the force’s plans to recruit an additional 200 officers to bolster the front line in the fight against crime.
West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson, said: “We welcome this additional funding. This is a short-term investment that will be targeted specifically at helping us tackle serious violence in the West Midlands, in particular the upturn in knife crime we’ve witnessed in recent months.
“I look forward to working with the Home Office to iron out a longer-term financial settlement for the force that will help us keep the public safe and pursue those that pose the most serious risk to our communities.”
The £100 million Serious Violence Fund was announced by the government in the March Spring Statement.
