Keeping knife crime under control

“There are already well-established processes in place for youth justice, but these processes can often take weeks or even months to bear fruit

“All this time, children remain vulnerable and offending can continue

“By working closely with the Milton Keynes YOT, this new approach will see a child who is arrested getting the support they need, alongside their parent or guardian, not within days or weeks, but within hours, while still in police custody ”

The inter vention work will look at the root causes of offending, and will seek to determine if the child is being exploited and is actually a victim, rather than a criminal.

The Milton Keynes YOT have a wide range of tools at their disposal, and children will be encouraged to engage

In the first month, seven young people under the age of 18 have been arrested as a part of Operation Deter, and all seven have engaged with the programme.

DCI Taylor added: “The acceptability, whether that is through fear or bravado, of carr ying a knife, needs to stop

“Part of that solution will be through education, but frankly, there also needs to be a fear of consequences For too long, carr ying a knife has been perceived by some as a “low level” offence

“Through Op Deter, this perception is changing Carr ying a knife is dangerous, not just to others, but to the carrier

“By taking swift and tough action, not only through prosecution and inter vention, but also through education, we aim to create the deterrent impact that forms the basis of prevention ”

Cabinet Member for Community Safety in Milton Keynes, Cllr Lauren Townsend said: “This project is part of a series of work that we ’ re doing to tackle knife crime and educate young people.

“Working alongside our partners, we ’ re able to have early conversations with young people and help prevent them becoming involved in offending.

“We’ll continue to work hard on making Milton Keynes an even safer place to live by reaching out to people at a point in their life when they’re more likely to engage ”