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<p>The Government is very concerned about increases in knife crime and its impact
on victims, families and communities. The latest statistics published by the Office
for National Statistics on 25 April for the year ending December 2018 show an increase
of 6 per cent in police recorded knife crime.</p><p>The action we are taking to tackle
knife crime is set out in our Serious Vio-lence Strategy and includes new legislation
in the Offensive Weapons Bill to introduce Knife Crime Prevention Orders, to make
it an offence to possess certain offensive weapons in private, and stopping knives
being sent to residential addresses after they are bought online unless the seller
has arrangements with a delivery company to verify age.</p><p>We are also raising
awareness among young people of the dangers of carrying a knife through our national
media campaign - #knifefree – and supporting early intervention through the £22 million
Early Intervention Youth Fund, which is already supporting 29 local projects, and
we have also introduced the £200 million Youth Endowment Fund, which will be delivered
over the next 10 years to support interventions with children and young people at
risk of involvement in crime and violence, focusing on those most at risk. The charity
Impetus, working in partnership with the Early Intervention Foundation and Social
Investment Business, is now operating the Fund We also continue to support the police
national weeks of action under Operation Sceptre.</p><p>In addition, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer announced in the Spring Statement on 13 March that there will be
£100 million additional funding for the police in 2019/20 to tackle serious violence,
including £80m of new funding from the Treasury. The majority of the investment will
largely go towards supporting police forces most affected by the violence we are seeing,
but the funding will also support Violence Reduction Units, bringing together a range
of agencies, including health, education, social services and others, to develop a
multi-agency approach to preventing serious violence.</p>
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