Javid: Cracking down on serious violence

• ·         Launching a landmark review of drug misuse
• ·         New statutory duty on public bodies and agencies to take a public health approach to violent crime
• ·         £200m new Youth Endowment Fund to target crime hotspots

Today the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid announced a package of measures to tackle serious violence including a landmark review of drug misuse, a consultation on the introduction of a new statutory duty to tackle root causes of violent crime and a new £200m Youth Endowment Fund to target crime hotspots.

-          Launching a landmark review of drug misuse.  The Serious Violence Strategy, published in April this year, set out the strong links between drugs and serious violence. It highlighted the strong evidence that illicit drug markets can drive sudden shifts in serious violence. To ensure law enforcement agencies and public policy are targeting and preventing violent crime effectively, this review will look at drug use amongst professionals, as well as considering use by the small number of entrenched users who cause the most harm. No drug misuse or type of user will be out of the scope of this review.

-          Consulting on introducing a new statutory duty. Law enforcement remains very important and at the heart of tackling violent crime, but we also need other sectors such as health, education, social services, local government, housing and others to make tackling the root causes of serious violence a top priority. We will bring a consultation document forward before the end of this year.

-          Introducing a Youth Endowment Fund of £200 million to focus on violent crime hotspot areas, helping build resilience in young people at risk of criminal involvement. We will use early predictors of involvement in youth violence such as truancy and low engagement with education, signs of aggression and involvement in anti-social behaviour, substance misuse and family factors like parental criminality or domestic violence in the home. This highly targeted approach will address the point that a small proportion of individuals commit the majority of crime. Tackling the root causes of serious violence and preventing young people from getting involved in criminality is right at the heart of the Serious Violence Strategy.

Sajid Javid, Home Secretary, said:

“I am committed to ending the scourge of violent crime and will combat this issue using all the tools at the government’s disposal.”  

“We will not only deal with crime when it happens but will go further and strengthen our ability to target and prevent the root causes of criminal behaviour from finding the evidence, ensuring our services are working together and providing the right resources to the right places.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact Salma Shah on 07717 843668.

Notes to Editors

Review of drug misuse

-          The Drug Strategy 2017 set out a clear programme of commitments to tackle drugs. It recognised that drugs are a driver of serious violence and acquisitive crime – and this is echoed in the Serious Violence Strategy.

-          We will shortly set out terms of reference and the name of the reviewer. 

Youth Endowment Fund

-          The extensive analytical work that informed the Serious Violence Strategy highlighted that the increases in violence mirrored the increase in offences by under 18s. It also set out the growing evidence base that early intervention through positive activities aimed at young people at risk of possible criminal participation is effective.

-          The single long term goal for the YEF would be to do whatever it takes to prevent the identified cohort of 10-14 year olds from becoming serious offenders in their later teenage and young adult years

-          We will look at other early intervention funds and endowment funds to inform the development of the YEF, including the Education Endowment Fund. It is also important that we link with other Government funded programmes and also leverage in other funding from funding foundations to support this work.

-          The public health approach is centred around this type of intervention. It is also important that this is seen as a consistent long term commitment if we are to maximise its impact and benefits.