Friends of Olivia Pratt-Korbel and other children traumatised by her murder are set to receive counselling and support after concerns over the impact of the tragedy on young minds.
The atrocious murder left Dovecot and the surrounding areas in a deep state of shock, and authorities are concerned about the long term effects the news may have on children and the community as a whole.
Olivia died on Monday, August 22, after a gunman, chasing 35-year-old convicted criminal Joseph Nee, followed his target through the door of Olivia's home in Kingsheath Avenue and opened fire. The killer, wearing a balaclava to hide his face, was captured on CCTV fleeing the scene on foot towards the junction with Finch Lane, before turning onto Berryford Road and disappearing from view.
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Speaking at a press conference in Merseyside Police HQ, Detective Superintendent Siobhan Gainer, head of Merseyside's Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP), said funding had been provided via existing budgets as well as an "uplift" from the Home Office. The money will be allocated by the VRP and used to support those affected by Olivia's murder, and also by the shooting deaths of 22-year-old Sam Rimmer in Dingle and 28-year-old Ashley Dale in Old Swan just days earlier.
Asked how that funding could be used to help people in Dovecot, and how quickly, DS Gainer said: "We're looking at spending that money sooner rather than later and getting those funds out before the end of the calendar year.
"It will take on different forms, so mainly around therapeutic support for our young people and our children in our communities. Specifically Olivia's school, and we will look to support the schools of her siblings and the wider area. And not forgetting the communities around the murders of Ashley Dale and Sam Rimmer as well, so it's across the whole region.
"We recognise that Olivia went to school in a different area to where she lived as well, so we're working with those two areas to bring everyone together and try and identify what exactly is needed. I think on the whole what people are saying, the communities are saying, and the partners I work with, is we would like some counselling and therapeutic support long-term for those who are affected by this."
DS Gainer said the VRP has a critical incident strategy, developed off the back of the murder of 12-year-old Ava White, stabbed to death in November last year by a 14-year-old boy after the VRP saw a clear demand for help from young people.
She said: "On the whole everyone is in shock, especially with the death of Olivia. That's not to say the deaths of Sam Rimmer and Ashley Dale are any less painful, but when you see a nine-year-old killed in her own home that sends shockwaves throughout the whole country and beyond, it's not just a Liverpool or a Merseyside thing."
The ECHO asked whether events such as Olivia's murder risk other children resorting to carrying weapons as protection due to fear of violence, or whether disgust at the fallout of organised criminal activity could steer children away from gang culture.
She said: "The evidence is mixed as to how people react. We know that in terms of some of our imagery that we might use around gun and knife crime, and lived experience programmes, because there is that fine balance between education and information and creating a sense that Merseyside is so dangerous you need to go and affiliate yourself with a gang or arm yourself.
"So we are acutely aware of treading that fine line and making sure that people are supported. So when we look at Mentors and Violence Prevention (MVP) which is within our senior school settings. That is around myth-busting, giving people the confidence of being a safe, active bystander so not putting themselves in danger, and giving realistic truths around what happens and how they can avoid that sense of fear and potentially turning towards things that could be unsafe and unhealthy."
The VRP was introduced in 2018 and is based on a long-term, public health approach to preventing violence. The model gained traction after hugely successful programmes across the world, particularly in Colombia and in Glasgow - where the homicide rate almost halved in the years since their innovative Violence Reduction Unit was introduced.
Anyone with information on Olivia's murder is asked to DM @MerPolCC or contact @CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111. Ifyou have any CCTV/dashcam/smart doorbell footage that could help police with their inquiries they can be uploaded on the dedicated public portal for Olivia's murder, which will go straight through to the investigation team. Footage can be submitted here Public Portal (mipp.police.uk).
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