Greater Manchester Police have launched a new Violent Crime Reduction Unit, it has been announced. The new task force will combine the Greater Manchester Police, the National Probation service, health, and education professionals and local authorities.
A £3.37 million investment from the Home Office Serious Violence Fund facilitated the creation of this new division
The new sub-division was created thanks to a £3.37 million investment from the Home Office Serious Violence Fund. The division will devote their efforts to tackling underlying causes of violent crime; These include minor assaults and severe incidents, such as wounding and rape. The unit will ensure that victims receive adequate support.
The unit will work closely with schools and communities to raise awareness of the consequences of violent crime and help young people at risk. This will involve developing a community-led approach to prevention and early intervention.
Working with Manchester Metropolitan University, the new unit aims to gather information about specific causes and possible prevention methods in the Greater Manchester region. Target activity in busy areas such as public transport routes and the city centre will be carried out in an attempt to monitor the exchange of illegal weapons.
The Greater Manchester Police also received £4.8 million funding to counter violent crimes directly earlier this year. This involved funding to carry out more targeted patrols and weapon sweeps in at-risk areas.
Jon Rouse, Chief Officer of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership said: “We need to treat violence as a public health problem as well as a crime problem, identifying and tackling the underlying causes.”
Superintendent Chris Downey of Greater Manchester shares this belief. He said that “the creation of a Greater Manchester-wide violence reduction unit is a fantastic opportunity to build on our successful partnership working and problem-solving responses across Greater Manchester.
“Teamwork is required to address the causes of violent crime, and this will come through partnerships with GMP officers, youth services, education and more. It requires each of us to ask ourselves ‘what is the cause and what do we have to do to prevent it?’ In most cases, the answer does not sit solely with the police, hence the need for us to work together with local partners.”
