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<p>Since 2019, the Home Office has provided over £5 million of funding for a Violence
Reduction Unit (VRU) in South Wales (known as the Wales Violence Prevention Unit)
(including c£1m in 2023/24) which is providing a multi-agency, preventative response
designed to tackle the drivers of serious violence and knife crime in South Wales.
In addition, we have invested c.£3.5m (including c.£535k in 2023/24) in ‘hotspot policing’
to boost the policing response to serious violence in South Wales and provide high-visibility
police patrols and problem-solving tactics in the streets and neighbourhoods most
affected.</p><p>The VPU is tasked with investing in evidence-based approaches designed
to steer vulnerable young people away from involvement in violence. As part of this
approach, the VPU is funding local interventions in Cardiff including A&E Navigators,
delivering advice, support and guidance to patients of any age who have experienced
violence with injury, with the aim of engaging with those injured whilst they are
in hospital to help break the cycle of violence at the point of crisis. Alongside
this, the policing hot spot response programme is targeting key locations in Cardiff
and Swansea with a dedicated proactive team conducting additional visible patrols
and undertaking activity to target individuals within hotspots as well as providing
additional support to teams working to police the night-time economy.</p><p>Additionally,
just under £1m has been awarded in 2023/24 to support delivery of the Serious Violence
Duty across Wales.</p><p>The government is also taking forward a programme to strengthen
the controls and legislation on knives. A Statutory Instrument was laid in Parliament
on 25 January 2024 to ban zombie style knives and machetes. Subject to the relevant
legislation being approved by Parliament, a surrender and compensation scheme will
be launched in August to remove zombie style knives and machetes from circulation
and ownership, and once the scheme ends on 23 September, the manufacture, supply,
sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes will be outlawed from 24 September
2024.</p><p>Additionally, through the Criminal Justice Bill , which is currently progressing
through Parliament, we are providing more powers for police to seize knives held in
private that they believe will be used for unlawful violence, increasing the maximum
penalty for the offences of selling prohibited weapons and selling knives to under
18s, and creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an
offensive weapon with intent to commit unlawful violence.</p>
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