The Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit, in partnership with Probation Service, has launched a new intervention aimed at making communities safer by breaking the cycle of offending in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear.

A community alternative to short prison sentences is a new and innovative intervention to divert individuals causing the most disruption in communities by addressing the root cause of their offending behaviour.

Reducing re-offending is a key priority of the Violence Reduction Unit and research has found that short prison sentences of 6 months or less can often lead to higher re-offending rates.

This is due to the disruption from positive factors and influences such as family relationships, housing, employment and access to healthcare and support, meaning individuals return to crime, which has a huge impact on communities.

This exciting project, coordinated by the Violence Reduction and Local Criminal Justice Board, is initially available to Newcastle and South Tyneside Magistrates’ Courts.

Those who are eligible for this intervention will be determined by the local courts in conjunction with the North East Probation Service. Any crimes involving domestic abuse and sex offences will not be considered.

This diversionary route will see probation staff working intensively with individuals to provide practical and mentoring support. They will also ensure engagement with community based services to address issues that trigger their offending.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness said: “The North East is a wonderful place and it is imperative that we do everything we can to make sure our communities remain a safe place to live. That’s why, along with the Violence Reduction Unit and Local Criminal Justice Board, we are working with offenders who repeatedly bring disruption to our communities, in order to tackle the underlying causes of their offending. This intervention will bring vital benefits to our communities by understanding and changing those individuals offending behaviour to prevent crime”.

Bronwen Elphick, Regional Director for Probation Services in the North East said: “I am really excited to be supporting such an initiative in our region. A Community Alternative to Short Prison Sentences gives us and our key partners, a real opportunity to try and intensively address re-offending outside of the prison walls, and ensure a level of continuity for individuals in an attempt to enable them to change their behaviour”.

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NORTHUMBRIA Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, wants to make Northumberland, Tyne and Wear the safest region for using public transport and is calling on passengers to help steer plans with the launch of a new survey.

A Safer Transport Northumbria reporting app, street pastors on the travel network and public awareness campaigns around unwanted behaviours and harassment are just some of the measures already in place as part of the Commissioner’s long-term strategy for safer transport. Kim is now wanting to hear from local people to help drive future change and improvements for the region.

Working closely with transport operators, councils and Northumbria Police, the Commissioner is wanting to spell out her commitment to keeping transport users safe by deterring and preventing crime and educating people on unacceptable behaviours and how to report them.

Earlier this year Kim launched a Safer Streets survey where she invited local people to tell her about where and when they felt uncomfortable or even unsafe. Feedback from this survey highlighted transport as an area of concern, particularly for women, and Kim wants to find out more so important improvements can be made.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “Public transport is the lifeblood of our region. It brings us all together with friends and family and gives us access to jobs, shops and all sorts of opportunities. People want transport that’s affordable, reliable and crucially, safe. The need to feel safe, and be safe.

“With a responsibility for policing I recognise that the safety and wellbeing of all those who use our buses and metros– we are talking thousands of passengers every single day. And so what I really want from people is the detail – which stations and stops need some extra attention and where routes are becoming a concern. All feedback will go towards updating my Police and Crime Plan, the key document that turns your priorities into actions for Northumbria Police across the region.

“Given the size of our region, incidents of harassment and antisocial behaviour remain relatively low, but they do happen and so we must continue to build on the work already being done to keep the networks safe. Enforcement, education, engagement – it all matters and I appreciate all the insight we can get from doing this survey.”

Residents can complete the survey here:  https://vru.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/pcptransportcon

Round 2 of the Local Youth Fund closed on Wednesday 2nd February 2022.

For more information, please contact the Violence Reduction Unit VRU@northumbria-pcc.gov.uk.

Young people will again have an exciting opportunity to bid for projects and activities as Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness launches the second round of the Violence Reduction Unit’s Local Youth Fund.

Earlier this year, young people submitted their proposals during the first round of the Local Youth Fund and the Violence Reduction Unit was able to fund 15 successful applications for young people to make a difference in their area.

Now, with £10,000 available and up to £500 per project, young people, with the support of a registered youth or community organisation, can bid for what matters to them in their local area, when the fund opens on Wednesday 5th January 2022.

The Violence Reduction Unit are working with North East Youth Alliance, to ensure young people across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear are aware of this fantastic opportunity.

Providing young people with the opportunity to develop their own project has fantastic benefits in building confidence, experience and skills for use in daily life.

This fund continues to be shaped by young people with the support of a youth panel who will review applications and provide their recommendations for funding.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness said: “I asked young people to tell me what matters to them in their local communities and through my Violence Reduction Unit, we’ve funded 15 projects across Northumberland, Tyne & Wear to do just that. And now, I want to hear from young people again – what projects, activities, support do you want to see? There is up to £500 available per project, and I want young people to tell me how best we spend this. So, if you, or someone you know has a great idea, then please do apply”.

She added: “It is vitally important that we engage our regions young people now to ensure they have the right support and opportunities to make positive decisions for the future.”

On behalf of the North East Youth Alliance, NE Youth Chief Executive Jon Niblo said: “The North East Youth Alliance are proud to be a partner within the Local Youth Fund which in round one supported some really positive community projects with young people. Young people also played a key role in the decision-making process gaining new skills and confidence. Good luck to all groups in round two.”

The application form will be available to complete via the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioners website when the fund opens on Wednesday 5^th January 2022.

For more information on the Local Youth Fund, please contact the Violence Reduction Unit by email VRU@northumbria-pcc.gov.uk.

POLICE Commissioner Kim McGuinness has welcomed new figures that show violent crime is down and more young people are being steered away from violence and criminality.

The latest figures show a 17% reduction in knife enabled serious violence, lower than levels witnessed before Covid in 2019.

The Violence Reduction Unit has set out its third year action plan that sees it continue to take a radical new approach to tackling the root causes of violent crime – a “public health” response in which violent lifestyles are treated like a disease, finding people who are at risk of learning violent behaviour and steering them away from exposure.

The PCC chaired the Violence Reduction Unit’s quarterly strategic board meeting last month and the figures show that since its inception there has been a reduction in serious and violent crime.

With hospital admissions caused by the use of sharp objects almost halved over the last two years and levels of violent crime reduced by up to 17% in areas such as Gateshead, the region’s most vulnerable young people and those on the cusp of crime are seeing their lives turned around through the Violence Reduction Unit’s preventative interventions.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness said, “Our region has come a long way in such a short time, but we know there is still so much more to be done to improve lives and prevent crime in our communities and through the Violence Reduction Unit, I am committed to doing exactly that. This last year has been difficult for so many of us and we have had to be creative in adapting our approach.”

She added: “We cannot just arrest our way out the problem – instead we must continue to educate young people, prevent individuals from re-offending and rebuild our neighbourhood services that were lost to austerity.”

The impact of the Violence Reduction Unit is evident in the number of people engaging in its funded interventions over the last 12 months. Some of the fantastic results include 79 young people whose risk of committing serious and violent crime was reduced, 83 young people with no further police intelligence, 51 young people with improved school attendance and 21 families with increased resilience after accessing dedicated support.

Further community based interventions look to work with individuals to understand their offending behaviour, the impact this behaviour has on victims and to find solutions to identified issues.

The Violence Reduction Unit has also engaged almost 14,000 young people in 645 educational sessions as well as delivering knife crime awareness training to almost 800 frontline workers.

Ipsos MORI found that for every £1 invested in Violence Reduction Units, £3 is saved to the public purse. The most recent local evaluation conducted on year 2 activities found that a combination of the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit and Police Surge activity, showed savings of £7.5 million per year.

For more information please contact the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit by email.

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The Government must learn the lessons of Gateshead and “level up” neighbourhood services if it wants to end anti-social behaviour, Police Commissioner McGuinness has said.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness has applauded community-led organisation Edberts House on their work helping families and fighting poverty.

Staff at Edberts House provide people in Gateshead with support for everything from youth services to housing help and family support.

The results have been dramatic drops in anti-social behaviour. One estate in Gateshead, which had the highest level of anti-social behaviour problems ten years ago, with 14.7 out of 100 tenants, has seen this reduce to 0.7 out of 100, below the Borough average as a direct result of supporting local people.

Kim McGuinness, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria, said she was happy to back the community group with support from her Violence Reduction Unit, but called on the Government to build up these organisations across the north.

She said: “For me it is clear, if we fight poverty we fight crime and if the government is serious about levelling up the north it needs to look at supporting our hardest hit neighbourhoods.

“We have shown that by investing in strong community support centres we can help people take control and turn their neighbourhood around. But there is only so much we can do locally. It is time the Government got serious about levelling all parts of the North, not just business parks and train stations.”

With the launch of three community hubs in the last 10 years, the Edberts House organisation has helped 6000 individuals in a range of activities for families and children, supported by volunteers and local apprentices, who following training, have successfully moved into employment.

The team of experienced community development workers, along with groups of people from the local community, have provided social activities including children and young people’s groups, family learning, arts activities and theatrical productions.

Ms McGuinness added: “I’m incredibly proud that organisations like Edberts House exist in our communities and the impact of the work they do to support those in most need is truly inspiring. Along with my Violence Reduction Unit, they recognise how important it is to give people opportunities to improve lives and ultimately prevent crime in our region.

Sarah Gorman, CEO of Edberts House, says “Violence is always a serious matter, but it is a symptom: a symptom of trauma, a symptom of poverty, a symptom of unemployment, hopelessness, lack of belonging…the list goes on.  By working collaboratively with other organisations, and embedding long term support in our communities, we can address the root causes, and really make a difference.”

For more information please contact the Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit by email vru@northumbria-pcc.gov.uk

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