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CONCERN: National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales John Apter says that the approach to youth policy in Britain must change

THE POLICE Federation of England and Wales has backed a report which says that young people have been let down by the government, resulting in a social emergency and a devastating loss of life.

The damning conclusions were made in a recently published report by the Home Affairs Select Committee.

It pointed to the government’s Serious Violence Strategy as a completely inadequate response to the wave of violence currently blighting our communities.

The hard-hitting report also called for:
• Stronger focus, leadership and direction from the government and prime minister, and an accountable leader in every local area reporting to the prime minister on action to bring serious violence down
• Major investment in local youth services and prevention work – including a new ‘Youth Service Guarantee’ to help prevent young people becoming caught up in violence
• Urgent action to tackle county lines – including stronger local safeguarding plans
• Substantial additional resources for policing
• All schools in areas with above average risk of youth violence to have dedicated police officers, and
• Action to cut school exclusions and end the part-time timetables in alternative education provision.

DAMAGING
National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales John Apter said: “This report echoes what we have been saying for some time about the cuts to the police service and their damaging consequences.

“The report calls on the government to provide greater funding for the causes and the treatment of these issues rather than expecting the police to pick up the pieces.

“Youth violence is a national emergency that my members are battling every day on our streets. But policing alone cannot solve this problem. There must be significant investment across the public sector to ensure everything is being done to end this shameful epidemic. In many cases the only time young people have contact with the police is during an emergency which cannot be right.”

Apter continued: “We need to get back to a situation where police officers are a visible and integral part of the community – a known and approachable presence – offering young people advice and support and providing a deterrent to those considering breaking the law.

“But this cannot be achieved without significant investment in terms of officer numbers and resources. The report says the government must make available substantial additional resources for policing – and they must.

“It is, therefore, very timely that the prime minister and home secretary have agreed an increase in police officer numbers. And, although this increase will take time to come into effect, this is a step in the right direction in combatting this important issue.”

Following the report’s publication, Yvette Cooper, the Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, said: “Teenagers are dying on our streets, and yet our inquiry has found that the government’s response to the rise in serious youth violence is completely inadequate. They just haven’t risen to the scale of the problem.”

She continued: “The Home Office has shamefully taken a hands-off approach to this crisis, but it is a national emergency and must be treated like one. They need to get a grip.

CRISIS
“Serious violence has got worse after a perfect storm of youth service cuts, police cuts, more children being excluded from school and a failure of statutory agencies to keep them safe. The government has a responsibility to deal with this crisis urgently.”

In England and Wales, knife offences have risen by more than 70 per cent over the last five years, while the number of under-18s admitted to hospital with knife injuries rose by a third between 2013-14 and 2017-18.

The last five years have also seen homicides increase by a third.