Stephen Morgan MP has welcomed the government’s £1 billion boost to police funding to restore neighbourhood policing and enhance public safety in Portsmouth.
The fresh funding, which includes £50 million for Violence Reduction Units to tackle knife crime, comes as Mr Morgan met with Portsmouth police today to discuss recent knife crime incidents in the city.
Reassuringly crime statistics[1] show that the number of serious offences involving a knife in Hampshire and Portsmouth have reduced in recent years, but recent incidents have drawn media attention.
The City MP has backed funding increases, as part of the government’s Plan for Change, boosting total policing investment to £19.5 billion next year. This will allow forces to tackle crime in their communities and rid town centres of antisocial behaviour, and apprehend persistent offenders.
This funding package also includes:
- 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers, community support officers, and special constables
- A new Police Performance Unit to track local performance
- £612 million to modernise police forces and improve intelligence-sharing
- £30 million to combat organised crime, including county lines operations
- £339 million more for police core grants, to support local crime-fighting priorities
- £140 million for Counter Terrorism Policing to address serious threats
The Labour Government has made it a mission for our whole country to halve knife crime in a decade.
It has banned the manufacture, supply, sale and possession zombie-style knives and machetes. A ban on ninja swords is also underway.
Commenting, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“We have seen some concerning knife crime incidents in Portsmouth recently which I met with police today to discuss, but I am assured the number of incidents overall has been coming down.
“I am keen to ensure visible policing and am assured additional patrols are in place to make our streets safer.
“The government has made it it’s mission to halve knife crime in a decade. I will continue to work closely with local police to ensure violent crime continues to come down in our city and Portsmouth residents feel safe in their communities.”
Mr Morgan has long campaigned for investment in policing to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour, emphasising the importance of this increased funding in making Portsmouth’s streets safer.
The city MP meets frequently with local police representatives and community leaders to discuss the impact of crime in Portsmouth and explore ways to improve safety.
Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of this Labour government’s Safer Streets Mission, and we are taking immediate action to tackle the scourge of serious violence on our streets.
• In September, the Prime Minister launched a new coalition to tackle knife crime, bringing together campaign groups, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders – all united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation.
• The government is already taking dangerous weapons off our streets. It has banned zombie-style knives and machetes – the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes became illegal on 24th September 2024. For 14 years the Conservatives failed to grip the knife crime epidemic. They promised 16 times to ban dangerous weapons from Britain’s streets, but it has taken a Labour government to finally deliver this.
• The government is going further by banning ninja swords, with a consultation already underway, thanks to the tireless work and campaigning of Pooja Kanda, whose son Ronan was killed with a ninja sword in 2022.
• The Home Secretary has recently announced that we will bring forward new standards for age verification to stop dangerous weapons ending up in the hands of under-18s – with new requirements for two-factor age verification being legislated for in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill.
• Senior social media execs who fail to remove illegal knife crime content from their platforms will personally face fines. To combat the unacceptable use of social media and online marketplaces to market illegal weapons and glorify violence, senior executives of social media companies will be held personally liable for failing to remove illegal content swiftly and face tough sanctions.
Prevention is also at the centre of our plans to tackle knife crime, with a new ten-year Young Futures programme comprised of new local Prevention Partnerships to identify and help at-risk young people to stay away from crime, and a new network of youth hubs.
• Young Futures will bring together expertise from across Government departments to deliver on this manifesto commitment. The Government will be engaging with national and local partners, local communities and children and young people to explore options for the design and delivery of the hubs.
• The Government’s manifesto included a commitment to introduce a new offence of criminal exploitation of children, to go after the gangs who are luring young people into violence and crime, and we plan to legislate for this in our forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill.
[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/policeforceareadatatables?_ga=2.174974370.1484163294.1682328825-1948027085.1622211324
