THE POLICING Minister joined Coventry officers on the beat last week.
Diana Johnson MP visited the city following the announcement of a new government surrender scheme to halve knife crime over the next decade.
During her visit last week, she learned about Coventry Police’s work to prevent serious youth violence, robbery, and antisocial behaviour.
She was joined by Faron Paul, a knife crime activist who is encouraging young people across the West Midlands, London and Greater Manchester to hand over weapons safely.
The Minister spoke to children at a local school about their concerns and saw how police are using VR headsets and school interventions to tackle youth crime.
She also observed a city centre deployment of Project Servator, a policing tactic that uses specialist resources – including police dogs, drones and specially-trained uniformed and plain clothes officers – to disrupt criminal activity.
Officers work with members of the public, local businesses and security teams, encouraging them to report suspicious activity.
The Minister met officers including Ch Supt Paul Joyce and Ch Cons Craig Guildford.
Deputy West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Wasim Ali also joined officers on patrol, along with partners from the Violence Reduction Partnership, Community Initiative to Reduce Violence and the Step Together initiative.
Ch Supt Paul Joyce, of Coventry Local Policing Area, said: “It was great to welcome the Policing Minister into Coventry and highlight some of what we do.
“We’re working hard day in, day out, to ensure Coventry remains a great place to live, work or visit.
“We have dedicated officers who are determined to do everything they can for their communities across the city. That includes working tirelessly to reduce serious youth violence through a variety of proactive tactics and initiatives.”
