The Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit has announced today that it will continue to make an impact on reducing serious violence through a further investment of over £7 million in the next 3 years.

This builds on the positive work to date which has seen serious violence levels reduce with a 9% drop since November as well as hospital admissions caused by assaults with sharp objects down by 11.5% in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear.

The Violence Reduction Units funded interventions continue to show impact within our communities, notably:

  • 75% of those engaging in the custody diversion project have reduced involvement with the Criminal Justice System and an action plan for the future.
  • 68% of young people who engaged with the YOLO programme have not offended since exiting the intervention.
  • 62% of those who complied with the Employment and Women’s Pathways have not re-offended since accessing the interventions.

As it embarks on its fourth year, the Violence Reduction Unit will continue to focus on providing community-based interventions in areas of most need, engaging young people to reduce their risk of being involved in crime and working with the whole family to tackle issues of violence.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness said: “I have made a commitment to ‘Fight Poverty, Fight Crime’, as sadly, we know that large proportions of violence occur in areas where poverty is most prevalent. We cannot just arrest our way out the problem – instead we must address the underlying causes, educate young people and prevent individuals from re-offending. Through the Violence Reduction Unit we are committed to doing just that and with this guaranteed investment over the next 3 years; we can target more individuals at risk of becoming a victim or before they are drawn into crime”.

She added: “I will continue to lobby Government for vital funding that will allow us to truly make a difference in our region”.

Northumbria Violence Reduction Unit Director, Steven Hume said: “In order to tackle serious violence, you need to have a long-term strategy and this investment will provide us with some certainty over the next 3 years to continue delivering such vital work in our region. We are committed to reducing serious violence and vulnerability and have made significant progress to date but this is a long term approach and there is more work to be done. That is why we are taking such a radical approach in tackling the root causes of violent crime and addressing the offending behaviour of those causing the most disruption in our communities.

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