Labour announces boost to 18 Violence Reduction Units

Diane Abbott and Richard Burgon have announced that a Labour government will provide a boost to 18 Violence Reduction Units tackling highest rates of gang-related violent crime.

The Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Justice Secretary jointly announced the 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.

The approach of Violence Reduction Units in treating violence as a public health crisis has been widely credited for reducing violent crimes by around 40 per cent 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 re-offending rates, with pilot innovations supported by a £20 million annual Criminal 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.

Diane Abbott 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.”