More UK central government money for Violence Reduction Units has been welcomed. Some 18 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) will receive funding for the units. For the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Serious Violence Lead, Mark Burns-Williamson said this funding will enable units in the short term. “PCCs are investing in preventative and early intervention initiatives around the country and are working to deliver a whole-system approach to tackling serious violence. We will continue to work with the Home Office and our partners to ensure longer-term investment over the period of the next spending review for all police force and PCC areas to deal with the scourge of serious violence in helping to keep our communities safe.”
For example, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has £3.37m of government funding to continue its VRU, launched in autumn 2019. It now has funding to April 2021. The unit as elsewhere brings together police, local government, health, community leaders and others, seeking to take a public health approach. Dr Sue Ibbotson, Public Health England (PHE) West Midlands Centre Director, said that such an effort must be sustained: “Violence is preventable, not inevitable. By taking a public health approach, agencies across the region can work together to understand and address the causes of violence, and reduce it.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “I will not tolerate criminals drawing vulnerable young people into a life of violence. We are delivering on the people’s priorities by recruiting 20,000 new police officers and introducing tougher sentences to keep offenders behind bars for longer, but agencies must also work together to tackle this issue head on. These units are already playing a vital role in diverting young people away from crime – and the funding I have announced today will allow them to continue this important work.”
In a draft budget for 2020-21, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has added £3.2m to the capital’s VRU. He said: ““London’s Violence Reduction Unit is leading our public-health approach to tackling the complex causes of crime, and increasing the Unit’s ongoing annual budget from £1.8m to £5m will allow it to invest in more projects and programmes to make crucial early interventions in a young person’s life. There is continuing uncertainty over the Government’s funding plans, which impacts our ability to recruit the police officers London needs. Without sustained Government investment in policing to reverse ministers’ decade of cuts, I am once again left with little choice but to raise council tax in order to tackle violent crime.”
