Tim Passmore has secured a further £397k on behalf of the Suffolk’s Serious Violence Partnership, which was set up to allocate the funding and monitor local delivery. The partnership is made up of Suffolk Constabulary, Suffolk’s county, district and borough councils, Suffolk Youth Offending Teams, Probation Service, the Suffolk Integrated Care Boards and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, and supported by Suffolk Community Foundation.

This new funding will continue to help keep young people out of the criminal justice system and support them to become productive, law-abiding citizens. Over 2,800 young people are expected to benefit from this latest injection of funding, across 22 different projects.

The projects are mainly focussed on prevention and early intervention for vulnerable young people. Projects include mentoring, parenting programmes, school exclusion prevention, sports programmes, cognitive behavioural therapy, and problem-oriented policing. It also supports youth clubs, social skills training and informal pre-court diversion.

Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore said, “Giving our young people the support they need to reach their potential definitely needs a partnership approach. Parents, schools, local authorities and the police all play a crucial role in showing our young people right from wrong, and keeping them on a positive path.

“Working together is what Suffolk does best and the Serious Violence Partnership is an excellent example of this.

“This additional government funding focused specifically on crime prevention is well-received in the county. It won’t help everyone but it will definitely make a huge difference to the thousands of young people who have been involved in these projects.

“It is heart-warming to hear the personal stories of some of the participants who, through no fault of their own, have been made to feel unsure of themselves and lacking in confidence, become more confident and motivated. This is an excellent project and one that we should all be proud of.”