'We can't be complacent about serious violence', says PCC
Statistics show serious violence and knife crime is falling in the region, but further efforts are being made to help prevent it
The Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) says it’s important not to become complacent about serious crime while figures have fallen in the region.
Last week, the PCC announced £1.8m of funding from the Home Office will be allocated to local partners to help tackle serious violence in the Thames Valley.
Statistics show serious violence and knife crime is falling in the region, but further efforts are being made to help prevent it.
Matthew Barber, Thames Valley PCC says, “it would be complacent to say that we ever think we've solved the problem.
“Serious violence is a concern, and any violent incident should be one that we wouldn't want to tolerate, that we would expect the police to act on.
“The trend has absolutely been in the right direction and in many ways bucking the trend nationally.
He added: “Of course, we do still see some of those instances, and that's why we need to work hard to prevent them.
“A tough police response when something happens is fine, but actually we'd much rather people weren't victims of crime in the first place.”
The Government funding will be put towards existing projects as well as testing new approaches to prevent crime.
Mr Barber said: “Although it will take some time, ultimately what we will want to see is a reduction in the dangerous or criminal activity of those individuals and making sure we're really making a difference in communities.
“I think a lot of the impact of this additional funding will probably be longer term rather than seeing a short-term cut to the figures again.
But actually, we know some elements of violence and indeed crime generally can be generational. So, what we need to do is break those trends now.”