Violence is a disease that starts with kids.. but we’ve got a cure
Ex-police chief’s visionary approach is credited with helping to cut crime
A former Scots police chief’s radical view that violence is a social disease linked to childhood trauma is being adopted across England.
Ex-chief superintendent
Niven Rennie’s Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU) has spearheaded a public health approach to violent crime, which regards street thuggery as an infection that can be cured.
He has welcomed the spread of the scheme – which has seen murder and knife crime in Scotland drop significantly – to 16 areas in crime hotspots such as London, Liverpool and Manchester.
But he fears there is a danger of too many smaller anti-violence units being created, with an over-reliance on short-term funding.
Rennie, who served in the police for more than 30 years and was appointed SVRU director two years ago, said: “Sadiq Khan created a London violence reduction unit (VRU) based on our model and we helped to mould that by contributing to the strategic planning group.
“The Home Office gave money to 15 police and crime commissioners to start VRUs in locations chosen due to higher levels of violence. This includes Kent, West Midlands, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leicestershire and Thames Valley.
“The short-term nature of the funding they have been given means that they have largely been procuring services, rather than delivering projects as we do in
Scotland. I also believe there are too many. I’d prefer to see some amalgamated and given longer-term funding.”
Crime in Scotland has fallen by 45 per cent over the past decade and by 20 per cent since 2016, according to the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey.
Anti-violence initiatives such as the SVRU have been cited as being at the heart of the drop in figures. The SVRU has a number of ongoing projects, including the Navigators scheme, which sees people working in A&E departments who connect with patients affected by violence, and social enterprise Street & Arrow, which serves up second chances to men and women with convictions. Rennie said: “People often blame the parents of young men committing these crimes but what if the dad is in prison and the mum is a heroin addict?
“The wider understanding that childhood trauma can affect outcomes in adult life has now caught hold in Scotland after a slow burn and is utilised in a number of settings including health, education and social services.
“It has not caught on to the same extent in England. We have been involved in giving advice to some of the new violence reduction units and have hosted visits from many.
“Sheffield has probably done the most to take on our project style with Navigators in accident and emergency at their local hospital.”
Rennie added: “There is still a job to be done, still kids with no opportunities, no hope. Often, the first time some people get any love in their lives is when they join a gang.
“Visit Easterhouse or Castlemilk today and ask those communities if they feel safer now? Hopefully they’ll say yes, but we know that
Scotland’s poorest communities haven’t witnessed the same drops in violence that the more comfortable areas have.
“If you’re poor in Scotland you are still more likely to be a victim of violence. That’s not fair.
“Scotland is still a relatively violent country, too many lives are still being scarred by violence, too many lives are still being lost.”
Former police officer and Scottish Greens justice spokesman John Finnie said: “Recognising that tackling violence isn’t simply about throwing young men in jail but that there are opportunities, working with health and education professionals, to identify and support potentially vulnerable young people before they enter the cycle of violence, has been transformational.
“It’s a testament to this visionary approach that it is to be rolled out in forces across the UK, and SVRU’s input is also sought internationally.”