‘One death is too many’, Commissioner tells serious violence summit in Plymouth

Tackling serious violence and preventing young people from living in fear must remain a top priority for agencies across Devon and Cornwall, the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner has said.

Alison Hernandez made the comments during a Serious Violence Summit held in Plymouth on Monday, March 9.

The event brought together senior representatives from Devon & Cornwall Police, local authorities, the fire service, probation services and the National Health Service to discuss ways of tackling violence across the peninsula.

The summit took place shortly after the arrival in Plymouth of the Knife Angel, a 27ft sculpture made from more than 100,000 surrendered or seized knives. The artwork is currently on display near the Plymouth Civic Centre on Armada Way until March 30 as part of a campaign to raise awareness about knife crime.

The event was opened by Caroline Harlow, who chaired the summit and described it as a “pertinent and important” gathering aimed at addressing what she called the “scourge of serious violence in our society”.

During the day, attendees took part in presentations and workshops examining the causes of serious violence, reviewing evidence and discussing prevention strategies. Sessions also focused on early intervention, improving collaboration between agencies and developing a shared strategic approach.

Speaking at the summit, Commissioner Hernandez said preventing violence must remain a collective effort.

She said: “Children living in fear is too much, and this isn’t the way we want to be in our society across our two counties.

“This summit is about making sure that all our partners get involved because they have a duty under the law to collaborate to tackle the problem.

“My office will be collating all the ideas which were put forward during the event and will use them to inform decisions about how the government’s Serious Violence funding will be spent.”

The Home Office has awarded Devon and Cornwall a Serious Violence Grant of £657,000, which will be distributed among upper-tier local authorities to help deliver the Serious Violence Duty in the 2026–27 financial year.

The duty, introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, requires key agencies to work together to prevent and reduce serious violence by sharing data, assessing local needs and developing coordinated strategies.

The region will also receive £487,000 in knife crime concentration funding during 2026–27. The funding will be used to develop targeted interventions aimed at supporting communities most affected by knife crime.

Tackling serious violence forms a central part of the commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan 2025–2029, which sets the priorities for policing and crime prevention across Devon and Cornwall.