Today, Thursday 24 January, the Office for National Statistics released the latest quarterly crime statistics. Please see below for the response from the Minister for Policing and Fire Service, Nick Hurd, along with a fact sheet of the Government's work to tackle crime.
Minister for Policing and the Fire Service Nick Hurd said:
Today’s statistics show that your chance of being a victim of crime remains low. But we accept certain crimes, particularly violent crime, have increased and we are doing everything possible to reverse the trend.
We have listened to police’s concerns about rising demand and have proposed the biggest increase in police funding since 2010. I’m confident the new settlement, which delivers up to £970m of additional public investment into policing in 2019/20, will help the police continue to recruit more officers.
We know it’s also crucial to stop crime happening in the first place. This is why our Government’s Serious Violence Strategy emphasises intervening early and is working to prevent young people from being drawn into a life of crime.
Background
The additional public investment of up to £970m is made up of:
- Up to £509m raised through Council Tax
- £161m in Government grants to PCCs
- £89m for national priorities
- £153m to help police pay increased pensions costs
- £59m in additional funding for CT policing
Government action to tackle crime
- The Government’s Serious Violence Strategy, published on 9 April 2018, puts greater focus on steering young people away from a life of crime, while continuing to promote a strong law enforcement response. The strategy sets out an ambitious programme of work with 61 commitments for further action which includes £17.7m funding for 29 projects endorsed by Police and Crime Commissioners under the new Early Intervention Youth Fund, and a new £3.6m NPCC/NCA led National County Lines Coordination Centre which launched on 21 September.
- On 2 October 2018 the Home Secretary set out a range of innovative new measures to address violent crime in the UK. The new package of announcements to be taken forward by the government includes:
- a consultation on new legal duty to underpin a ‘public health’ approach to tackling serious violence
- a new £200 million youth endowment fund - this will be delivered over 10 years and will support interventions with children and young people at risk of involvement in crime and violence
- an Independent review of drug misuse to ensure law enforcement agencies and policy are targeting and preventing the drug-related causes of violent crime effectively.
- We recognise the demands facing the police and have responded with a settlement that represents the biggest increase in police funding since 2010. The provisional settlement proposes a funding increase of up to £970 million in 2019/20, including money raised through council tax. This extra funding will enable forces to recruit more officers, better respond to reports of crime, and tackle serious and organised crime, while also meeting the financial pressures they face.
- Offensive Weapons Bill, currently before Parliament, will introduce new offences to help tackle knife crime and violent attacks using acids and other corrosive substances. This includes a new offence on possessing acid and corrosive substances in a public place without good reason; preventing the sale, both in-store and online, to persons under 18 of those substances that are found to be of most harm and commonly used in acid attacks; and to stop the delivery of both bladed products, such as knives, and acid to people’s homes when bought online.
- We are supporting 68 local projects through the £1.5m anti-knife crime Community Fund and announced a new £1.4m police social media hub to tackle online violence.
- We supported a multi-agency approach to tackle crimes that involve the use of motorcycles, mopeds or scooters and we are taking a similar multi-agency approach to ensure that everything is being done to tackle vehicle theft. Through the Vehicle Theft Taskforce, we are bringing the police, industry and others together to see what more can be done to take real, effective and preventive action. I chaired the first meeting of the Taskforce on 15 January and I am confident that it will significantly strengthen the response to vehicle theft.
- We have invested over £333m through the Police Transformation Fund in 110 projects to deliver against the aims of the Policing Vision 2025. The PTF continues to invest in major national programmes that delivers technology change at scale; increases capability, including to tackle Serious and Organised Crime; further progresses workforce reform; and supports more coordinated working arrangements both within policing and with other partners. This has included transforming the police approach to child sexual exploitation to protect vulnerable children and building firearms capability in the UK.
- We have published our draft Domestic Abuse Bill and package of non-legislative action which will protect and support victims, recognise the life-long impact domestic abuse can have on children and introduce a Domestic Abuse Commissioner to hold agencies to account. We have pledged £100 million in dedicated funding until 2020 to tackle violence against women and girls.
- In July 2017, we published the Drug Strategy, which brings together police, health, community and global partners to tackle the illicit drug trade, protect the most vulnerable and help those with a drug dependency to recover and turn their lives around.