The Government has awarded Croydon part of a £765,000 national Community Fund to help tackle knife crime.
The Community Fund, which was originally £500,000 but was increased by the Government to £765,000, was set up by the Government in order to help prevent knife crime across the country. It is part of a wider package of measures to tackle knife crime.
Croydon is set to receive £50,000 in total, which will be allocated to:
· Lives Not Knives – which focuses on preventing young people up to 24 years old from becoming involved in knife culture
· Aspire Higher – a Lives Not Knives campaign that specifically targets 200 at risk youths in Croydon
· Damilola Taylor Trust – funds will go towards a Youth Capacity Building and Empowerment Initiative
· Gloves Not Gunz Boxing Club – an organisation which focuses on boxing and fitness for young people instead of gangs
Knife crime is one of the most serious problems facing Croydon right now. Stories of stabbings have become far too common an occurrence, and tragically, these are often fatal.
As Croydon’s Chief Superintendent announced last year, relying on stop and search alone to end knife crime is not enough. It is vital that we look at how to prevent people from carrying knives and other weapons in the first place, and prevent young people from making decisions that ruin the lives of others.
I therefore welcome the Government’s decision to provide an extra £50,000 of funding for Croydon and look forwards to seeing these projects make a real difference for the area.
