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A police force has revealed plans to spend £7m tackling youth violence after declaring knife crime a "national emergency".

West Midlands Police said the majority of the "Project Guardian" funding would go towards preventing knife crime.

The force will focus more resources on Birmingham's night time economy and mediation services for young people.

Critics said the funding was not enough and the plan relied too heavily on police officers working overtime.

The plans include recruiting 75 new police staff investigators for a year, spending £1.5m on diversion, mediation, support and mentoring projects, 15 police cars and new metal detecting "knife wands".

The force will also give £100,000 to young people to improve their communities "via local initiatives".

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) David Jamieson acknowledged the funding was "short term" but said the investment was "to break the cycle of crime".

"Earlier this year I declared knife crime to be a national emergency," he said.

"Project Guardian is a vital part of West Midlands Police's response to that emergency."

Over the next year, the force has pledged to fund an extra 163,400 policing hours using existing officers working overtime.

"It's not an ideal solution, but it's what we've been reduced to," Richard Cooke, the West Midlands Police Federation Chair, told the BBC. He added that after a spate of violence in which three local teenagers were murdered in 12 days, the force relied again on officers working overtime.

"We're having to use overtime to plug the gaps when what we should have is a police force that's fit for purpose," he said.

The renewed focus on mediation was welcomed by Kirk Dawes, a former police officer who ran a pioneering unit to combat serious gang violence.

However, he raised concerns about the funding not being enough and the plans too short term.

"True investment would be a 10-year plan but that would cost more money than they've been given," he said.

Until mediators can create peace, the situation would get worse with retaliation and revenge, Mr Dawes said.

"It's not nearly enough, but you can't blame the PCC for that."

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