Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Constable says tackling knife crime's a main priority
Chief Constable Alexis Boon's telling us his priorities as he takes on his new role
The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Constable says tackling knife crime's a main priority.
The Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, is providing a £73,000 funding boost for a school-based programme to help young people to avoid being exploited or drawn into knife crime.
Chief Constable Alexis Boon's recently started his role and is sharing his main priorities going forward.
He said: "Knife crime is of course very important, particularly to people in cities, but not just, making sure we disrupt and prevent knife crime, and actually go after those who habitually carry knives.
"Every knife taken off the street is a life saved."
The PCC's new programme aimed at young people will be targeted at pupils in years six and seven to offer extra support during the potentially vulnerable transition period from primary to secondary school.
Donna Jones' £73,000 funding will extend until March 2026, to see the project's total funding reach £360,000.
She said: "It is vital that we help these young people to make the right choices at a time of great change in their lives.
"I am delighted to be able to extend the reach of this 'Choices' programme into the new school year.
"Research shows that children in year six and seven are more likely to disengage from education, and because of that, they are more vulnerable to exploitation or getting involved in crime.
"Knife crime, gang violence and county lines drug operations are all risks for children at this age if they make the wrong decisions.
"This innovative 'Choices' programme aims to reduce that risk, while enabling children to make healthy decisions, build positive relationships and respond in the right way when facing potentially risk situations."
Mr Boon told us more about how the force are working to take knives off the streets.
"There's lots of things you can do around knife crime.
"I think one of the first things is to stop people being drawn to it in the first place, so working with education institutions and partners to make sure the message gets out there of the consequences of carrying knives, what it actually means, and how lives are ruined because of that.
"So there's a real education piece.
"Working with partners as well to make sure, particularly young people and others, are diverted from knife crime, so that they've got things to do over the summer and employment prospects.
"There's really important measures that can be taken together with our partners to disrupt that, and our Violence Reduction Unit is absolutely key to that.
"There is also the hard edge of stopping and searching people that we think are carrying knives, making sure that we arrest, we go after those who habitually carry, we get orders on them if we can't prosecute them, and we do everything we can to stop it happening."