Government must 'shift mindset' on youth violence, home secretary to admit after fatal stabbings hit record

Police say government funding cuts have left them 'swimming against the tide' of violence

(PA)

Sajid Javid is to admit that the “mindset of the government needs to shift” to tackle youth violence.

The home secretary is calling for a “public health approach” to stem rising knife crime in the UK.

But critics have accused him of failing to provide the resources necessary to match his stated ambitions, following years of government cuts to policing and youth services.

Giving his first major speech on crime, Mr Javid is expected to outline how data would improve the government’s understanding of its causes.

“Just as we can design products to prevent crime, we can also design policy to shape the lives of young people to prevent criminality,” he is due to say.

“Changing the lives of young people will not be an easy task. Crime has a way of drawing in those who feel worthless. But when you belong to something greater than yourself, when you have something to lose, it’s not as easy to throw your life away.

“No future should be pre-determined by where you’re born, or how you’re brought up. We cannot afford to leave anyone behind.”

It comes after a YouGov survey showed that crime has overtaken health as the issue the British public is most concerned about, following a spate of stabbings.

The government’s first-ever Serious Violence Strategy, which was launched last year, pointed to drug dealing and social media as drivers of violence.

But police officers and youth workers say austerity and exploitation have created a “lost generation” of children.

The Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, attacked the government’s strategy for omitting the impact of the loss of 23,000 police officers since 2010.

Chair John Apter said Mr Javid “must acknowledge that police numbers matter and need to be increased as a matter of urgency”.

“The prime minister and chancellor must now give their full and unequivocal support to policing, this support must be more than just words,” he added. “It means investment with new money. Society just isn’t as safe as it once was, and although the police service is doing everything within its power, we are swimming against the tide and it is the public who are being let down.”

Analysis by Labour claimed that spending on youth services in England had dropped by 70 per cent since the Conservatives came into power.

The party said the change equated to £880m in real terms since 2010 – £70 per child on average – and that half of councils had cut spending per young person by more than three quarters.

“Youth services play an absolutely vital role in our communities, both by helping young people fulfil their potential and by keeping them out of trouble,” Jeremy Corbyn said.

“Cuts have consequences, and not only have the Tories betrayed a generation of young people; these cuts are creating the conditions in which crime can thrive.”

The home secretary has hailed a £970m annual funding rise for policing but senior officers have said the boost – mostly generated by council tax increases – is still not enough to cope with the demand they face.

At a speech to early intervention charities, police leads and youth workers gathered in London on Monday, Mr Javid is to compare violent crime to the “outbreak of some virulent disease”.

He was to call for all parts of government must work together to “ensure there is no let up until the violence is eradicated”.

Mr Javid previously announced a consultation on a “public health duty” for workers including nurses and teachers to report concerns that children could be drawn into crime.

The government is extending stop and search powers (Getty)

The government is also extending police powers to stop and search people without reasonable suspicion in the areas most-affected by violence.

Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan said: “Serious youth violence has now become a crisis – there’s no other way of talking about it.

”To tackle this growing scourge, we must address the ‘poverty of hope’ felt by too many children and young people across the country, who see little or no chance of a positive future.

“Caught in a vicious cycle, they carry knives because they don’t feel safe.”

Earlier this month, Theresa May hosted a Youth Violence Summit bringing together politicians and experts to discuss tackling the causes of bloodshed.

The prime minister provoked fury last month when she said there “was no direct correlation between certain crimes and police numbers”, being publicly contradicted by the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.

There were 285 homicides where the method of killing was by a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales in 2017-18 – the highest number since records started in 1946.

In the year to September, police recorded around 1.5 million “violence against the person” offences – a jump of nearly a fifth on the previous 12 months.