Merseyside Police unit to target teen crime

Merseyside Police will set up a unit dedicated to stopping young people becoming involved in violent crime, the area's police commissioner has said.

On Monday, a BBC investigation revealed Liverpool teenagers are being offered up to £1,000 to stab other youngsters.

Commissioner Jane Kennedy said the new Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) will "bolster the response to serious violence and knife crime".

It will be supported by £3.37m from the government's Serious Violence Fund.

VRUs are designed to bring the police, local authorities, health and education professionals, as well as community leaders, together to tackle violence.

A PCC spokeswoman said it would "focus on reducing crime by preventing children and young people from entering into criminal activities in the first place".

Ms Kennedy said the causes of violence were "complex and deep-seated" and lasting change could only come if "all of those who can help the police embrace this opportunity to do so".

"We need to look beyond the immediate suppression of violence, important though that is, to societal problems, including poverty, mental ill-health, education, issues of addiction and lack of opportunity."

Welcoming the news, Merseyside Police's Deputy Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said the VRU would make the streets safer "through sharing professional knowledge and developing enhanced and robust strategies to put offenders on the back foot".