City MPs Iain Stewart and Ben Everitt have joined with local Conservative Councillors to call on a more concentrated focus from Thames Valley Police on the rise in knife crime in Milton Keynes.
The move comes following a fatal stabbing over the Christmas period in Oxley Park.
The Government has made reducing serious violent crime a priority.
Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) have been set up to bring together different organisations including police, local government, health, community leaders and other key partners to prevent serious violence by understanding its root causes.
This early intervention approach saw Thames Valley Police receive an additional £2.3million. It is one part of the Government’s drive to tackle serious violence, which also includes bolstering law enforcement with 20,000 new police officers, increasing prison sentences for violent criminals, and initiatives to intervene at earlier stages to deter such crimes.
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Iain Stewart MP said:"The rise in knife crime is increasingly concerning. There have been three murders in my constituency in as many months. They are needless and heart-breaking.”
Ben Everitt MP added:"Iain and I are determined to support our police officers in dealing with this. We need a tough approach and we are seeking assurances from Thames Valley Police that they are taking the recent rise seriously and more measures are being taken.”
Leader of the Conservatives Council Group, Cllr Alex Walker added: "The Council has to take a leadership role here too. They should be seeking meetings with our Police and Crime Commissioner, MPs and Ministers. I've seen nothing to suggest this Labour-led Council is playing its part and I'll be working to make sure they do as we enter 2020."
