This government has set an ambitious but essential target: to halve knife crime over this decade. To meet that target, Labour is addressing the root causes of offending, ensuring youth workers, schools, and police are working together to provide tailored support to young people when they need it most. 

In Crewe and Nantwich, I’ve seen firsthand the impact our youth centres can have. I visited Nantwich Youth and Community Centre with our Policing and Crime Commissioner Dan Price to discuss antisocial behaviour in the area. Last year, I attended the opening of South Cheshire Amateur Boxing Club, which benefitted from major funding from the UK Government’s Towns Fund (£1.19m) and Youth Investment Fund (£820,622). There, young boxers told me how important it was that they and their friends had a place to go and people to look up to outside of the classroom.  

Later this year, thanks to a government support to the tune of a £6.4 million boost from the Youth Investment Fund and additional support from the £22.9 million Crewe Towns Fund, The Dome Youth Centre will also be opening in Crewe town centre. 

Nationally, we are already making progress on tackling knife crime. With early, targeted action we can put children on the right path to a positive future and stop them falling into a toxic cycle of reoffending.  

Since the start of this Parliament: 

• Knife crime has fallen by 8%, meaning 4,229 fewer offences. 

• Knife homicides are down by 27%. 

• Hospital admissions for knife-related injuries have fallen by 11%. 

• The government have banned dangerous weapons such as ninja swords and zombie style machetes. 

• We have taken nearly 60,000 knives off our streets. 

I know that residents want to see officers on our streets and to feel that police are an integrated part of our communities. That’s why in the run up to the election, one of my five key pledges was to restore neighbourhood policing.  

The government is matching the efforts taken by local organisations with strong national policy. Every child caught carrying a knife will now be given a tailored, mandatory action plan to tackle the root causes of their offending and make sure they don’t do it again. 

This is backed up with a wider three-year funding package for youth justice services, worth over £320 million to give more certainty to plan for and invest in the future. 

Knife-crime soared under the Tory government while they gutted youth centres and cut local government funding. 

Police will also now be required to make mandatory referrals to Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) for all children caught in possession of a knife. YOTs will work with young people to try and help them stay away from crime, and will cooperate with police, probation, schools and charities to deliver their work. 

Guidance for police forces and YOTs will guarantee mandatory action plans for children caught with knives and ensure evidence-based interventions are in place within four weeks of referral to a Youth Offending Team. 

This Labour government is bringing joined up thinking to youth justice, both in terms of funding and policymaking.