Serious youth violence has reduced by almost a third in Solihull, compared to the same time last year.
The Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, Simon Foster, has welcomed the 28% drop and has attributed the fall to the numerous projects running in the borough to prevent and tackle violence, including the work of the region’s Violence Reduction Partnership.
Youth workers have been placed in the town centre, to help de-escalate violent behaviour, and to educate young people about managing difficult emotions, the harms of substance misuse and anti-social behaviour.
Free music sessions have been made available for young people, either involved in or at risk of falling into violence.
The sessions are based in their local community and equip young people with the skills and equipment needed to create and record their own music. They focus on improving their overall wellbeing, through mentoring as well as their employability.
Additional activities have run throughout school holidays, providing music and sports sessions, first aid training and mentoring for children, to ensure they have safe spaces to go to, when school is closed.
The Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster said: “We’re heading in the right direction, with serious youth violence reducing in Solihull by almost 30%, but we cannot ever be complacent and we never will be.
“We must all remain committed and dedicated to constant and unremitting action to prevent and tackle violence.
“I will continue to work with the Violence Reduction Partnership and West Midlands Police, to ensure we are best supporting our children and young people, to guide them away from violence.”
Youth worker and Mentor, Tee, from FitCap mentoring said: “Through our patrols, we have established strong bonds and a sense of trust within the community.
“As a result, even when issues arise, we are often shown more respect and understanding than other professionals.
“We have been able to address a wide range of needs within the communities we work in, tackle antisocial behaviour (ASB) and potential illegal activities, and even act as peacemakers in disputes that have emerged within the community.”
Acting Inspector from West Midlands Police, Jordan Keen said: “Our teams continue to work hard to tackle serious violence across Solihull.
“From working closely with our schools and colleges, regularly deploying knife arches and holding regular inputs about violent and anti-social behaviour, to the work we do day in, day out with our partners including housing providers.
“This consistent approach has contributed to these really positive results.
“We also have specialist officers from the force Guardian taskforce who have been carrying out a mixture of plain-clothes operations and high-visibility patrols to help keep our communities safe.
“Along with enforcement, the Guardian officers also engage with and educate young people around the life-changing impact of knife crime.”
Councillor Wazma Qais, Cabinet Member for Communities at Solihull Council, said:
“With the support of funding from the Violence Reduction Partnership we have been able to coordinate a range of activity delivered by local organisations working with young people in Solihull, to provide positive engagement and safeguard them from being drawn into violence.
“These include organisations across the Yo Solihull network, including FITCAP, Urban Heard and Solihull Music, alongside many others.
“Although it is positive to see this recent reduction in youth violence, we recognise that one incident is too many and are committed to doing everything we can in Solihull to continue to reduce violence and safeguard young people.”
