Home Office written question – answered at on 26 March 2018.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the effect of the change in the level of police funding on the capacity of local police forces in Coventry to investigate violent crimes; and if he will make a statement.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales shows that crime has fallen consistently and is down by over a third since 2010. The ONS believes that while overall levels of violent crime are not increasing nationally, there is evidence of rises having occurred in some of the more harmful categories such as knife and gun crime. Clearly there is more we must do to tackle the violent crimes which blight communities.
I spoke to all police forces in England and Wales in the lead-up to the police funding settlement. This settlement responds to the evidence they provided on changing demand by providing an increase in total police funding of around £450m in 2018/19, around £270m of which will go directly to Police and Crime Commissioners to spend on local priorities. In the West Midlands the PCC has decided to use precept flexibility to raise around £9.5m of additional funding for the force, and has committed £2m to projects to tackle violence and gang crime.
We will publish our new Serious Violence Strategy in the Spring which will respond to recent increases in serious violence, with tough new laws planned to address knives, acid and guns.
Yes1 person thinks so
No16 people think not
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