Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland Matt Storey has secured a further 12 months funding to tackle serious violence.
The Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence (CURV) will continue to spearhead the preventative approach to drive down serious and violent crime with a guarantee of £1,342,845 in the latest round of Home Office funding.
New funding will enable CURV to deliver key violence prevention work, which includes teams of skilled and experienced navigators in police custody, A&E departments and schools to offer support, guidance and a route away from violence for vulnerable young people.
Investment in crime reduction
The year ahead will also see the unit continue to invest in violence and crime reduction interventions including:
- Focussed Deterrence – working directly with people most likely to become involved in violence and supports them to desist
- Sport-based interventions – with MFC PL Kicks
- Young Futures Prevention Panels – across Hartlepool and Stockton
Other benefits also include further work on a Town Centre Violence Reduction Plan, youth engagement work and an end of year serious violence summit.
Since launching in 2022, more than 115,000 young people and over 17,000 adults have been reached through CURV initiatives, which bring together local partners in policing, education and health, to share information in order to identify vulnerable young people at risk, helping steer them away from violent crime.
Top priority
Reducing serious harm is a top priority for Matt in his Police and Crime Plan for Cleveland and has welcomed the funding for CURV.
He said: “I am pleased that the Home Office has renewed funding for CURV to continue vital support for children and young people in Cleveland.
“Plans for CURV for the next year include life-changing work – not something that can be delivered in a few weeks or months. It is about building on the progress already made and continuing to deliver interventions that create real change.
“CURV has supported thousands of some of the area’s most vulnerable young people and securing this funding means we have a new opportunity to build upon the unit’s achievement, while supporting the priorities of my Police and Crime Plan.
Head of CURV John Holden added: “I am proud of the collective impact we have achieved since our launch in 2022. Through strong partnerships across policing, education, health, local authorities and beyond, we have delivered targeted interventions to over 130,000 people, supporting those most at risk of serious violence through programmes such as our navigators, focused deterrence work, and community and sport-based initiatives.
“Securing £1.3m in continued Home Office funding is a clear endorsement of the progress made to date and in the success of these interventions to make positive impact. We will continue to work with partners in the coming year to evidence the success of partnership working, and we will seek to embed these impactive interventions into business as usual.”