£500,000 TO TACKLE KNIFE CRIME IN COVENTRY

COVENTRY is set to be given nearly £500,000 to tackle knife and gang crime.

The Government is set to hand out a total of £9.5million to projects in 21 areas across the country to help those, and their families, who are hit by the devastating effects of knife crime and gang culture.

The news comes just days after the latest stabbing in Coventry which saw a 17-year-old injured during a street robbery in Willenhall.

That was one of a number of stabbings that have already happened in 2019 and the Commander of Coventry Police recently stated that he is doing “absolutely everything” to keep Coventry safe.

The city will benefit to the tune of £477,000 from the Supporting Families Against Youth Crime fund.

The official line for how the money will be spent is that the cash will be used to “deliver a three-tier approach aimed at giving professionals additional training, raising awareness in schools and targeting whole family work in areas of greatest need”.

The funding was announced by Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire MP, who said: “Carrying a knife should never be a rite of passage. For too long, it has been normalised behaviour for too many teenagers in our communities. Every violent incident, every injury, every young life lost is a tragedy that has devastating consequences for all involved. The early intervention strategies set out by the projects we are funding offer real alternatives to children and young people who may otherwise become involved in gang crime.”

Police in Coventry have had to deal with a number of stabbings already in 2019 including the most recent on Saturday, February 24.

A teenager suffered stab wounds to the chest, arm and back while being robbed of his bag in Remembrance Road, Willenhall, at around 6pm.

Other incidents so far this year include another 17-year-old being stabbed at Gallagher Retail Park on February 7 and two other incidents where teenagers suffered stab wounds in the city centre and Foleshill.