Case Studies

Millions for violence reduction units

by Mark Rowe

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has provisionally allocated £35m to Police and Crime Commissioners in 18 areas to set up violence reduction units. As already running in Glasgow, and London through the Mayor of London, units will take a multi-agency approach, bringing together police, local government, the health service and others to tackle violent crime and its underlying causes.

The cash is in addition to the recent £63.4m ‘surge funding’ to police forces across England and Wales that are worst affected by serious violence and knife crime.

The Home Office says that the units will be responsible for identifying the drivers of serious violence locally and developing a coordinated response to tackle them.

For example in London, a programme to tag knife crime offenders with a tracking device on release from prison, trialled in Lewisham, Croydon, Southwark and Lambeth, is to be expanded across almost every London borough. Location data will be shared with the Met Police and probation services.

Sajid Javid said: “Knife crime is taking too many young lives and it’s vital that all parts of society work together to stop this senseless bloodshed. Violence reduction units will help do this – bringing together police, local government, health professionals, community leaders and other key partners to tackle the root causes of serious violence.”

And National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Chair Martin Hewitt said: “I have consistently made the case that serious violence on our streets is something the police cannot tackle alone. Forces across the country are putting significant effort into addressing the problem, and we are starting to see some positive outcomes. It is widely agreed that prevention must be the priority, and evidence shows that violence reduction units work in contributing to this effort. The extra funding being provided to Police and Crime Commissioners is therefore welcomed.”

For the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Chair and Serious Violence Lead, West Yorkshire PCC Mark Burns-Williamson called it an important step forward. He said: “However, reducing violence is a long-term challenge requiring sustained investment and funding and something which I hope the current Prime Ministerial candidates ponder on very closely. It is essential that funding beyond this first year, already truncated, is found to ensure that VRUs can have a lasting impact on reducing serious violence in our communities which is something all PCCs and key local partners are committed to.”

The Home Office has to reply to its consultation on a proposed new public health duty. Just as under the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act councils had to take regard of crime in their areas, and under the ‘Prevent’ duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 universities and others have to have due regard to preventing people being drawn into terrorism, a public health duty would mean agencies such as police, education and health, local authorities, offender management, housing, youth and victim services would have a new legal duty to take action to prevent and tackle violent crime.

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