Partnership progress in tackling violent crime

20th October 2022

Organisations from across West Yorkshire have joined forces in a major partnership event to help shape the future approach to tackling serious violent crime.

Led by the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), over 80 delegates met at the Al-Hikmah Centre in Batley yesterday (19/10) to exchange knowledge and learning.

Representatives from the Youth Association, St Giles Trust, Guiseley Community Foundation and Life Experience each presented details of their VRU funded summer project.

Young people involved in the work shared their experiences and what difference it had made to them and their peers.

Cordel Willie of the St Giles Trust was involved in delivering the activities. He said:

“I’ve been doing mentoring with the kids, delivering slides on weapons awareness and county lines, and just checking the general knowledge that the kids had on those subjects.”

Jess was one of the young people involved in the project and said:

“I’ve liked doing this project because it was fun and you got to do a lot of activities. You got to learn about knife crime, drugs and all that kind of stuff. They did a great job.”

Speaking at the VRU event, West Yorkshire’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE said:

“Each and every one of us can be the catalyst that turns the tide on serious violent crime.

“Tapping into the extensive knowledge that already exists across our partnership network is critical to our success.

“This is why it has to be a co-ordinated effort, consolidating our resources to ensure we can collectively deliver the biggest impact.”

Workshops also took place at the event to further understand the root causes of violent crime and what more could be done as part of the local response.

Director of the West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit, Chief Superintendent Jackie Marsh also addressed the event and said:

“Central to our approach must be our young people. They are the ones who are most affected by violent crime, and it is crucial they have a voice.

“Hearing their stories at the event really brought to life the benefits of our partnership approach and what it means on a very practical level.

“It is both inspiring and uplifting to know that we have so many young people out there who want to change the culture and confront the negative stereotypes.”

The feedback from the event will contribute to the VRU Needs Assessment, which will shortly be refreshed.

This provides an evidence-based public health assessment of serious violence in the county by identifying, defining and analysing the underlying drivers of violence.

The picture built through the assessment leads the VRU’s Response Strategy, which allows the VRU team to deliver bespoke, targeted interventions to the areas of greatest need.