WHO WE ARE
Merseyside’s Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) is helping the government to deliver its Serious Violence Strategy, (published in 2018), in response to national increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide.
In total, 18 Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) were established across England and Wales and ours is one of them; we renamed ours because we believe the word ‘partnership’ reflects the way we work and approach this challenge. We received £3.37m to support Merseyside’s efforts to make our communities safer and healthier.
The VRP brings together Merseyside police, Merseyside Fire and Rescue, local government, National Probation Service and the county’s Youth Offending Service, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key partners.
We accept that it’s not possible for law enforcement alone to reduce serious violence, and the problem needs a broad pool of expertise.
As one team, it creates a powerful hive mind that draws upon expertise from a broad range of sectors. Together, this creates a ‘public health approach’, which allows us to identify the root causes of serious violence and potential remedies with a wide-angle lens. You can read more about the public health approach in the 'What we Do - Overview' section above.
Photo by Clark Tibbs - Unsplash
SERIOUS VIOLENCE IN MERSEYSIDE
Response Strategy, March 2020
After establishing the objectives that underpinned the work of Merseyside’s Violence Reduction Partnership, we needed to take stock and consider how we would operate in the following three years. Our Response Strategy reflects these decisions, outlining a number of critical areas that constitute the VRP’s action plan.
As well as a comprehensive look at the current state of serious violence in Merseyside, the Response Strategy discusses the ideology behind public health and how the practice positively drives our own work. You’ll see our mission and values. You’ll better understand how community and stakeholder involvement has influenced our approach and our strategic framework for delivering the forthcoming action plans for our work, which sets out how we intend to improve life chances for all in Merseyside by reducing serious violence. We explain our approach to sustainability long-term, how our funding works; reflections on our first six months of operating between 2019-20 as well as our governance and importantly, our partnerships.
