£7m extra cash for Violence Reduction Unit

The money will support the push to prevent and tackle serious violence and knife crime

£7m of additional funding over the next three years has been awarded to the Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) to continue its work coordinating the partnership response to serious violence across the Thames Valley. 

The money comes from the Home Office Serious Violence Fund to support the push to prevent and tackle serious violence and knife crime.

£5m of the cash will be targeted at work to prevent young people being drawn into crime, by funding education and mentoring work in schools, early intervention and diversion programmes.

A further £2m from the “Grip” fund will deliver additional proactive policing operations which target those areas with the highest levels of serious violence and those people who are committing violent crime and carrying weapons.

Welcoming the funding, Matthew Barber, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley, said: “Tackling serious violence and knife crime remains a priority for the police, our partners and the communities we serve.

“This is a hugely welcome announcement, not only as it commits an additional £7m to support our efforts, but as it gives us budget confidence for the next three years. This allows us to plan and invest for the longer-term, which will lead to more effective and sustainable work.”

The Thames Valley VRU is a partnership body, which brings together representatives from Thames Valley Police, local authorities, education, health, youth offending, probation and prison services and the voluntary and community sector.

The VRU and its partners work to deliver more intervention and prevention work to combat the root causes of young people being drawn into crime in the first place.

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Published: 01/04/2022 10:27am by Banbury FM Newsteam

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