Fall in serious youth violence after police and partner efforts over summer months

Senior leaders in policing have welcomed a fall in serious youth violence over recent months after a major effort by police and partners.

The latest figures show a fall of 21 per cent in recorded incidents of serious youth violence in Bedfordshire over August and September, compared to the previous three months.

There has been a wave of significant enforcement by police over recent weeks, including nine arrests last week as part of a national week of action to tackle county drugs lines.

This follows a summer of prevention activities and campaigns led by partners such as the Bedfordshire Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit (VERU).

Bedfordshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Sharn Basra said: “We are working incredibly hard to tackle the issues of serious violence across the county and it is good to see that recorded levels have dropped over the summer.

“We regularly run specialist patrols to tackle knife crime and the drivers of serious violence, such as drug dealing and gang activity and although we are doing some great work, we know we can’t get complacent.

“We also have a keen focus on prevention and work closely with partners, including the Violence and Exploitation Reduction Unit (VERU) to provide specialist support and opportunities for young people and their families.

“We are aware that there is still so much more to do and so we are continuing to encourage people in our local communities to report any such criminality to us as this helps us to build a better picture of the areas we need to target.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Festus Akinbusoye added: “These are all exceptional results and demonstrate the incredible work that is ongoing as part of our comprehensive plan and approach to tackle violent crime and keep young people safe.

“The enforcement results are fantastic. Officers are working around the clock to tackle the drug dealers and the gangs that blight our communities and exploit young people.

“But it is the prevention projects and opportunities for young people that I really value and am glad to see have been such a focal part of our work over the summer.

“We cannot arrest our way out of this problem and I will be pushing the police and all of our partners to ensure successes like these continue.”

Last week Bedfordshire joined forces across the country in targeting county lines drugs lines, which use a phone line and exploit children to sell drugs.

Operations were carried out every day last week, including:

• A man from Bedford being charged with a modern slavery offence as well as six drug dealing offences following a warrant by the force’s Boson guns and gangs team. Two further arrests were made during the week in connection to the same drugs line.
• Class A drugs were seized and two arrests made as part of another operation targeting the Bugz line, with one man being charged for breaching bail conditions.
• Three people were arrested following a warrant targeting the Ghost drugs line.
• Prison cells were searched at Bedford Prison to target illegal drugs activity.
• Boson carried out two days of patrols in hotspot areas in the county for gang activity, including making one arrest linked to county lines drug dealing.

This followed a series of other operational successes by police in recent weeks.

In the last week of September a joint cross-team effort saw four people – two men and two women - charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

Officers attended an address in Bedford after stopping a vehicle nearby, and recovered around 2.5 kilos of cocaine worth approximately £100,000.

This week the force’s Operation Costello team charged two people with drug offences after uncovering a cannabis factory with more than 500 plants in it in Bedford.

Another man from Luton was also charged with money laundering offences, while Boson made seven arrests in Luton and Dunstable as part of another patrol on Tuesday (11 October) for a range of drugs, weapons and violent offences.

Meanwhile more than 1,300 knives were recovered from the county’s 11 weapons bins over the summer, as people were encouraged to discard any weapons.

The bins were initially emptied in July where 590 blades and two firearms were found. They were emptied again in September, with a further 715 knives recovered along with another two firearms.

After being reviewed by officers to see if they have been used in any criminal acts, the weapons will then be destroyed.

Other activity across the summer saw the police and crime commissioner supporting the holiday and activities food programme run by local authorities, which gave hundreds of children on the programme a water bottle with a QR code on which linked through to support services.

The likes of Luton Town Football Club, Ampthill Rugby Club and leisure centres across the county supported police and the VERU through the Safe to Play campaign, highlighting the risks of exploitation to young people and where to get support.

In the run up to the summer holidays the VERU also facilitated a day of action at Bedford Academy. Speaking to students in years seven to 10, the VERU's Youth Intervention Specialist (YIS) team shared top tips on staying safe over the summer, while highlighting the risks of falling in with the wrong crowd.

More recently, VERU Youth Intervention Specialist, Roseann Taylor, spoke to parents at Central Bedfordshire's Power2Parents workshop, helping parents to spot the signs of exploitation while sharing her lived experiences following the death of her son in 2018.

If you want to report anything to the police you can do via beds.police.uk/ro/report

To find out more or get in touch with the VERU visit bedsveru.org