Project set up to keep kids from knife crime
SPECIALLY-TRAINED SUITES TO HELP DETER REOFFENDING
STAFF IN CUSTODY
A PIONEERING scheme has been launched in the city to deter teenagers in custody for knife crimes from reoffending.
The Violence Intervention Project was set up by health and social care organisation Turning Point and has placed specially-trained staff at police stations to support young people brought there after arrest.
The project is aimed at breaking the cycle of offending behaviour including the habitual carrying of knives.
Supported by Leicestershire Police, staff work alongside young people aged from 11 to 25 and their families.
The project enables specialist teams to work towards building trust, identify underlying issues such as trauma, and create opportunities to turn around the lives of these young people.
The project builds on a similar one to mentor victims of violence who are admitted to A&E, including those with knife injuries.
The teams are based in custody suites at Mansfield House police station in the city centre and at Euston Street police station in Aylestone.
As of February, a total of 764 teenagers and adults have been seen in custody by Turning Point’s VIP team and 103 have been supported after their release by these staff in the community.
Turning Point says the VIP custody support scheme is vital in reducing and preventing violence including knife crime. This is especially among teenagers who are exploited by adult offenders or groomed by county lines gangs.
Julie Bass, Turning Point chief executive, said: “Knife crime and violence blights everyone’s lives. Short prison sentences trap young people in a cycle of offending and custody.
“But embedding specially trained staff in police stations can divert them away from crime. More interventions like the VIP scheme are needed to prevent further tragedies and wasted lives.”
The scheme was initially launched in February 2020 in Leicester Royal Infirmary A&E for young people admitted with knife or violencerelated injuries.
More than 250 survivors of the offences have been helped to date.