Labour announces a boost to 18 Violence Reduction Units tackling highest rates of gang-related violent crime

Diane Abbott, Labour's Shadow Home Secretary and Richard Burgon, Shadow Justice Secretary, will tomorrow (Wednesday) announce plans to expand 18 Violence Reduction Units with an average of 20 additional officers each, in police forces tackling the highest rates of gang related violent crime.

In April 2018, Labour announced its support for Violence Reduction Units modelled on the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) in Glasgow, which is responsible for implementing the successful crime reduction initiative. Their approach of treating violence as a public health crisis has been widely credited for reducing violent crimes by around 40% over the last decade and murders reduced to their lowest level since 1976.

The expansion of Violence Reduction Units will also be complemented by new plans for investment to tackle reoffending rates, with pilot innovations supported by a £20m annual Justice Innovation Fund for Police and Crime Commissioners and local criminal justice boards to develop and trial the best practice ways of reducing re-offending.

Re-offending costs are estimated at £18bn per year with re-offending rates at 65% for those released following a short prison sentence.

Labour's manifesto also commits to match in full the additional government resources announced for policing, after the Tories took 21,000 police off our streets.

Diane Abbott, Labour's Shadow Home Secretary, speaking ahead of an event in Hackney with anti-knife crime campaigners, said:

“Tory cuts to the police have made our communities less safe.

“You can't have safety and security on the cheap and you can't believe a word that Boris Johnson says on policing.

“Labour will fully resource our police forces after Tory cuts and our focus on violence reduction units will make a public health approach to tackling crime a reality.”

Richard Burgon, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary, said:

“Under the Tories reoffending rates are far too high, meaning more victims of crimes and less safe communities.

“Labour will prioritise reducing the number of victims of crime and tackling the huge social and economic costs of offending.

“Our Criminal Justice Innovation Fund will help local experts invest in schemes that work best to tackle reoffending in their areas.”

Ends

Notes to editors

• We will be providing resources to police forces to expand 18 violence reduction units (VRU) in areas with the highest rates of gang related violent crime.

The 18 police forces with VRUs are:

Metropolitan Police

West Midlands

Greater Manchester

Merseyside

West Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

Northumbria

Thames Valley

Lancashire

Essex

Avon and Somerset

Kent

Nottinghamshire

Leicestershire

Bedfordshire

Sussex

Hampshire

South Wales

Home Office, 12 August 2019, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/funding-for-violence-reduction-units-announced

• The average of 20 additional officers in each Violent Reduction Unit will be drawn from within Labour’s existing commitment to boost police numbers.

Building on the successful Glasgow model of violence reduction, which has seen violent crimes reduce by around 40% over the last decade and murders reduced their lowest level since 1976, the investment in violence reduction units will be complemented by a rebuilding of our entire police force with:

• more uniformed police officers
• more civilian specialists/experts
• more police in national agencies
• more back up admin staff and
• more PCSOs.

All of this will be supplemented with Labour's commitment to rebuilding our public services, for an effective approach to tackling the sources of crime.

Criminal Justice Innovation Fund

• A priority for Labour is reducing the number of victims of crime and the social and economic costs of offending. Reoffending costs are estimated at £18bn per year with reoffending rates at 65% for those released following a short prison sentence. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/814650/economic-social-costs-reoffending.pdf and https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/832662/proven_reoffending_bulletin_July_to_Sept_17.pdf
• The costs of reoffending from short-term prisoners alone is an estimated £7-10bn per year. https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprobation/media/press-releases/2019/05/prs/ 
• The Criminal Justice Innovation Fund will help develop best local practice in reducing offending and re-offending. It will providing a funding pot to roll out successful pilots, pilot innovative new schemes, and strengthen already successful local schemes.
• The Criminal Justice Innovation Fund will provide £20m per year and allow the Local Criminal Justice Boards or PCCs in each of the 43 police force areas to bid, on average, for £465,116.
• The fund could be used for Early Intervention, Community Resolutions and Restorative Justice, Diversion Schemes, Women’s Centres and Problem-Solving initiatives that divert offenders from the Criminal Justice System into schemes that deal with the root causes of offending. Such alternatives schemes can reduce re-offending rates, reduce costs to the criminal justice system, improve wider outcomes for offenders and allow practitioners to focus on the root causes of reoffending.
• It would complement Labour’s plans to strengthen community sentences; create a public probation system that prioritises tackling re-offending instead of profit; and properly fund the Female Offender Strategy.
• The Criminal Justice Innovation Fund would be a centrally managed fund allocated to Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs), which are often led by Police and Crime Commissioners
• Allocating funds to local multi-agency partnerships like LCJBs can help coordinate local efforts to target offenders’ behaviour, deliver better support for victims and improve links between criminal justice agencies that help keep local communities safer.
• The Criminal Justice Innovation fund will help support a “whole-systems” approach where public bodies work together in a coordinated way to reduce offending and improve outcomes for victims. 
• The National Criminal Justice Board (CJB) recommends that PCCs should chair local forums, given their role in commissioning the majority of local services for victims and because of their duties under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 they are required to work with local CJS partners to provide an efficient and effective CJS. A large number of PCCs do now chair the LCJBs in their areas.  See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-and-crime-commissioners-engagement-protocols/local-forums-and-the-role-of-police-and-crime-commissioners

The NCJB recommends that the LCJB membership should consist of the following:

• the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)
• a Chief Police Officer
• a representative from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
• a representative from Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS)
• a representative from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS)
• a representative from the National Probation Service (NPS) / Community Rehabilitation Company (CRCs)
• a representative from the Youth Offending Team
• a Legal Professional e.g. solicitor, barrister
• a victims and witnesses service provider
• a representative from the other rehabilitation service providers e.g. education/health
• a member of the judiciary, where appropriate, in an advisory capacity
• Over the medium term this approach will free up resources as prison is often the most expensive - and least successful - way of reducing re-offending.