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U.K.'s Hammond Said to Plan $131 Million to Tackle Knife Crime

U.K.'s Hammond Said to Plan $131 Million to Tackle Knife Crime

(Bloomberg) -- Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will announce a 100 million-pound ($131 million) funding package to help tackle a surge in knife crime in the U.K., according to people familiar with the matter.

The money, which will be announced in Wednesday’s Spring Statement, will include about 80 million pounds of funding from the Treasury, the people said. The commitment was first reported in the Sun newspaper.

A dozen deaths by stabbing in London alone this year has shocked the country because of the apparent indiscriminate nature of many. Prime Minister Theresa May said last week there wasn’t a direct correlation between falling police numbers and a rise in violent crime. However, senior police officers, including the capital’s Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, contradicted her.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.net;Kitty Donaldson in London at kdonaldson1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Andrew Atkinson, Stuart Biggs

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