City sees massive drop in youth knife crime

Police said the fall in youth violence followed the launch of a £6m initiative to reduce violence

A city has seen a major drop in youth knife crime rates following the launch of a multi-million pound violence reduction project, police said.

Serious incidents in Coventry involving blades in the last six months dropped by 42% compared to the same period last year, a city council meeting heard on Wednesday.

Data also showed the city’s overall crime rate was down by 7.5% compared to the same time last year.

Coventry police superintendent Ronan Tyrer described the statistics as “astronomically successful”.

The pioneering, multi-million pound Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) launched in April to reduce violent crime in Coventry and Wolverhampton.

More than 300 people have been referred to the scheme, based at the Moat House Community Centre in north Coventry, the scrutiny co-ordination committee heard.

The project, which led to West Midlands Police gaining 10 officers, identifies people most likely to be involved in violence and supports them to find ways out of it. 

The meeting heard the CIRV reduced levels of violence in Northampton by around 40%. 

Supt Daryl Lyon led the project in Northampton and is now overseeing its roll-out in the West Midlands.

He said: “I think it’s worth recognising. One of the reasons we got the funding is a recognition of the excellent partnership working that’s already happening in the city.”

Officers based in Coventry work to disrupt gangs and youth violence

A report for the meeting said the project was “complex” but “primarily designed to engage anyone over 14 years and connect them to an exit pathway from gangs, violence and county lines.”

Supt Lyon added the city had made huge progress in tackling gang-related violence.

“I am really pleased we have seen a massive drop-off in relation to gang disputes in the city, more than we ever imagined,” he said.

He described how gang fights and retribution were “very rare,” compared to two years ago.

Coventry also had the highest concentration of gang injunctions anywhere in the country, the meeting heard.

Like all local authorities, Coventry City Council has a legal duty to work with partner organisations to tackle serious violence.

Almost 7,000 knife incidents were recorded in the West Midlands last year - more than any region outside London.