Staffordshire will not get share of £100m funding to fight knife crime
Staffordshire will not receive any of the government’s £100 million fund to tackle knife crime, the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has said.
Commissioner Matthew Ellis told his office’s scrutinising panel on Monday, that knife crime in the county was a "relatively small" problem and money was instead going directly to the worst affected areas of the country.
He admitted that the north of the county, around the city of Stoke-on-Trent, had a higher rate of knife crime, but claimed only 31 more knife related incidents had been recorded across Staffordshire since last year.
Panel member Councillor Ann Edgeller asked Mr Ellis: “Are you getting any of the £100 million that the government are giving out to help with knife crime?”
Mr Ellis said: “There is a sense that knife crime is going through the roof in Staffordshire. It’s not. The numbers are relatively small.
“Every single use of a knife is entirely inappropriate and needs dealing with in a very, very robust way.
"The issue in London, in the West Midlands, in metropolitan areas, bares no resemblance to the issues we have in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
“North of the county is more challenging. But if you look at the overall numbers they are a tiny, tiny fraction.
"I am getting really considered about the number of people who have talked to me about the knife crime epidemic, purely based on what they’ve seen in London.”
The commissioner added that he had recently brought together 21 agencies in the county to discuss the issue and conceded that there has been a rise but said this was over "many, many, many years".
“The numbers are still relatively small,” he added. “I think it’s 31 more of crimes of either possession or use of a knife this year compared to last year.”
Councillor Edgeller responded: “You’ve still not answered my question, are you getting any of the £100 million that the government out towards helping with knife crime?”
“No,” said Mr Ellis. “The £100 million is only going to the areas most seriously affected. And Staffordshire is not an area that is seriously affected.”
By Local Democracy Reporter Joe Burn
