£350,000 funding will help keep Peterborough children away from violence

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of funding will be used to help keep youngsters in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire away from violence.

More than £350,000 of Home Office serious violence funding has been secured to support implementation of the Serious Violence Duty across the county.

As part of a package of measures under development, Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston has allocated Cambridgeshire County Council funding to support the delivery of enhanced youth work in Cambridgeshire involving young people aged 10 to 15 who could be at risk of being drawn into violence. The project starts this week.

The Duty, introduced as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, places a legal obligation on public sector organisations such as the police and local authorities to work closer together with the support of police and crime commissioners to tackle the root causes of serious violence and prevent unnecessary deaths. It stresses the importance of early intervention to stop young people from being drawn into knife crime and serious violence.

The youth work project will educate young people about the risks of serious violence and provide information about the support services that are available to them.

Mr Preston said: “I am pleased the government is supporting local areas to implement the Serious Violence Duty and fund innovative projects built around the unique and diverse needs of young people. Violence shatters lives and although Cambridgeshire does not have the intensity of problems experienced by some larger cities, we are certainly not immune.

“The causes of violence are complex and deep-rooted, but evidence shows early support is vital to breaking the cycle and helping young people stay on the right track. No single agency can resolve violence on its own which is why I warmly welcomed the introduction of the Duty earlier this year to ensure the right agencies are joining forces to develop the right solutions. Working together, we can and will make a difference.”

Councillor Alex Bulat, Vice-Chair of the Communities, Social Mobility and Inclusion Committee said: “This money will make a big difference through engaging young people in their local communities, helping them feel safer in public spaces and, by being better informed, avoid challenging and risky behaviours that are associated with violence and crime.”