Police are struggling to tackle the growing volume of cases around online child abuse and according to the National Crime Agency (NCA), the situation is likely to worsen. The UK’s child abuse image database has 17m unique images on it, and it is growing by 500,000 every two months.
In light of this the Violence Reduction Units bring together organisations across local communities to tackle violent crime and address its underlying causes where they do positive preventative work with children and young people. The £35.5 million, which covers 2021/22, is the third year of funding for 18 Violence Reduction Units operating across England and Wales in areas worst affected by serious violence. It takes the total invested in Violence Reduction Units to more than £105 million.
In their first year of activity, initiatives funded by the scheme supported more than 100,000 young people, more than 51,000 of whom were identified as being at high-risk of being involved in criminal and violent activity. They also helped bring police, education leaders, health workers and local government together to share information about the causes of violence and agree a coordinated plan of action to tackle it. This is crucial to preventing crime at a local level. Today’s funding means that they can continue this vital work.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said, “Violence Reduction Units play a vital role in preventing young people from being dragged into the horrors of serious violence, and this funding will enable them to continue this crucial work. I will continue to back our police with the resources and powers they need to cut crime and make your community safer.”
Work funded by Violence Reduction Units has included prevention work in schools, communities, prisons, hospitals, Pupil Referral Units and police custody suites.
The Home Office, in partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, is hosting a virtual Four Nations conference this week, which will be attended by Minister for Crime and Policing Kit Malthouse. The Minister will hear about the significant work taking place to support young people and discuss the importance of tackling serious violence.
