The government has announced a £26 million fund to deploy precise mapping technology to tackle knife crime hotspots. The initiative, led by the Home Office, will share national mapping data with police forces to pinpoint specific streets and locations where knife offences are most prevalent.
The Knife Crime Concentrations Fund will support police operations in high-risk zones, targeting the 27 police forces in England and Wales that handle 90 per cent of all knife crime incidents. Policing minister Sarah Jones stated: “Knife crime devastates lives and families across the country, and the majority of it takes place on just a small number of streets.”
The mapping system will identify hotspots down to 100 square metres and the times crimes are most likely to occur. Increased police patrols, new CCTV cameras, live facial recognition, and knife detection arches will be deployed in these areas as part of a wider programme to halve knife crime over a decade.
Ministers are also rolling out a new generation of youth centres under a plan called Protecting Lives, Building Hope. Eight hubs will be established in Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, County Durham, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, and Tower Hamlets, with 50 eventually planned across England.
