£35 million for police violence reduction units

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has announced he has provisionally allocated £35 million to Police and Crime Commissioners in 18 local areas to set up violence reduction units.

The units will take a multi-agency approach, bringing together police, local government, health, community leaders and other key partners to tackle violent crime and its underlying causes. The funding is in addition to the recent £63.4 million investment in forces across England and Wales that are worst affected by serious violence and knife crime.

Introducing new violence reduction units is part of the government’s focus on early intervention, as set out in the Serious Violence Strategy which was published in April last year.

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.”

Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, 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.”