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The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced the recipients of the Early Intervention Youth Fund.

29 projects endorsed by Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales will receive £17.7 million over 2 years to divert children and young people away from violent crime.

The projects will include work with children and young people at risk of criminal involvement, organisations safeguarding those at risk of gang exploitation and county lines, or who have already offended to help divert them into positive life choices.

Announcing the recipients, Home Secretary Sajid Javid recently said:

As well as taking immediate action to curb knife crime, we need a longer-term approach to prevent our young people from getting drawn into a life of crime in the first place.

That is why early intervention – alongside tough law enforcement – is at the heart of our Serious Violence Strategy.

This money will fund a range of projects that focus on diverting vulnerable youngsters and those who have already offended away from crime.

The Early Intervention Youth Fund follows the innovative new measures announced by the Home Secretary last month:

• plans for a new legal duty to underpin a ‘public health’ approach to tackling serious violence, for which a consultation is due to be launched shortly
• a new £200 million Youth Endowment Fund, to be delivered over 10 years
• an independent review of drug misuse to ensure law enforcement agencies and policy teams are targeting and preventing the drug-related causes of violent crime effectively

The government also continues to deliver the 61 commitments outlined in the Serious Violence Strategy.

An Offensive Weapons Bill to restrict access to dangerous weapons is currently before Parliament, a new £3.6 million National County Lines Coordination Centre to disrupt violent drug gangs was launched in September and a £1.4 million social media hub to identify and take down online material inciting violence will open early 2019.

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