Cracking down on serious violence in Milton Keynes

Thames Valley Police is working with partner agencies across the Thames Valley to prevent serious violence in the community
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Serious violence is most prevalent in more populated areas like Milton Keynes and the force is concentrating activity in these locations in order to disrupt and prevent these types of crime.

In the vast majority of cases, victims and offenders are known to each other, and do not pose a threat to the wider public.

A number of different enforcement and engagement activities have been taking place in recent months focusing people aged 25 and under, and will continue as part of Thames Valley Police’s commitment to our communities.

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These activities include:

> Intelligence led patrols

> Increased use of stop and search under Section 60 powers where appropriate

> Executing warrants

> Introduction of permanent knife amnesty bins across the Thames Valley

> Use of knife arches and knife wands by officers

> Early intervention work including officers visiting schools to talk to students

The Police and Crime Commissioner has established a Violence Reduction Unit to work with the police and other agencies to bring down exploitation and violence in our communities.

Thames Valley Police lead officer for serious violence, Superintendent Stan Gilmour said: “We are aware that in recent months there have been a number of very concerning incidents across the Thames Valley involving serious violence, with three people having been killed since New Year’s Eve.

“Tackling this sort of crime has always been a priority for the force and we will continue to build opportunities to do this with and for our communities. A number of measures have been put in place to help us do this, and the funding from central government and the OPCC will only assist our work as we move forward together.

“Partnership working is crucial to helping us do this and to keep our communities as safe as possible, and programmes such as Divert will provide an opportunity for us to prevent serious violence at a very early stage.

“We will not tolerate these sort of crimes, which put so many people at risk, and as well as working with our partners for early intervention and prevention we will use powers such as stop and search, as well as implementing Section 60 orders, whenever we need to keep our communities safe.

“I want people to feel reassured that in comparison to the rest of the UK, Thames Valley is a safe to live and work, with much less serious violence than a lot of other police force areas.

“However, we are doing everything in our power to ensure that serious violence in our communities is reduced even further and that the Thames Valley is as safe as it can possibly be.”