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<p>This Government is committed to cutting crime, keeping our streets safe, and restoring
confidence in the criminal justice system.</p><p>Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs),
as the locally elected and democratically accountable individual, are responsible
for the totality of policing in their area. They set local policing and crime objectives
in partnership with their communities and key stakeholders and hold the Chief Constable
to account for the delivery of efficient and effective policing.</p><p>The Government
is funding a range of initiatives in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands police
force area to reduce crime. Through the Safer Streets Fund, the West Midlands has
received just over £3.7m of investment through five rounds of the Fund. As part of
the current Round Five, the West Midlands PCC has been allocated £819k to deliver
interventions aimed at targeting neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour, and violence
against women and girls.</p><p>To tackle the drivers of serious violence, the Home
Office has invested over £20m since 2019 to develop the West Midlands Violence Reduction
Unit (VRU), including funding of over £4.38m in 2023/2024. The West Midlands VRU delivers
a range of preventative interventions, cognitive behavioural therapy programmes, and
sports-based diversionary programmes.</p><p>During the Police Uplift, West Midlands
recruited 1,376 additional uplift officers against a total three-year allocation of
1,218 officers. As at 30 September 2023, there were 7,982 police officers in West
Midlands, a total growth of 1,291 additional officers against the baseline (6,691)
at the start of the Police Uplift.</p><p>Overall, the West Midlands will receive up
to £790.4 million in 2024/2025 from the police funding settlement, an increase of
up to £51.1 million when compared to 2023/2024.</p>
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