‘We want to see fewer lives ripped apart by violent crime’
FEWER FAMILIES being torn apart by violent crime will be the measure of success for a new government-funded unit, according to West Yorkshire’s most senior police officer.
Chief Constable John Robins said he had high expectations for West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), one of 18 now in place across the country.
Speaking at the official launch in Leeds, he said: “The outcomes, the results, what we actually want to see from the VRU are less harm, less death, less injury, less families ripped apart by violence.”
He said the police were only one part of the solution to
“The reality is we do an awful lot of reacting, an awful lot of fire fighting.” Helen Christmas
tackling violent crime, with a change in attitudes from communities and wider society also key factors.
The unit was formed last year after West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson, won funding from the Home Office’s Serious Violence Fund.
It will bring together police, local government, public health, voluntary and third sector, community leaders and others to tackle violent crime and its underlying causes.
Mr Burns-Williamson said: “Serious violence blights our communities locally and nationally and although the impact is often felt in large cities, we know the problem reaches further into towns and rural areas as well.”
He said all those involved must be realistic about the challenges that lay ahead but he was confident the VRU and this new way of working together would provide long-term solutions.
Reducing knife crime involving those aged 25 and under is among the national priorities, with local priorities including diverting young people away from violence, the impact of domestic abuse, and support for victims and witnesses.
Helen Christmas, from Public Health England, said a public health approach to crime must examine the root causes such as housing, poverty, education and childhood experiences.
“The reality is we do an awful lot of reacting, an awful lot of fire fighting,” she said. “That squeezes out the opportunity to do the early intervention and prevention.
“For each of us here, whatever our particular expertise or experience or what we can offer, it’s about what positive difference we can make to people’s lives – and if we do that together, then we’re doing our jobs.”
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