"We know that addressing violence is not a single agency issue. Local partners have to develop and deliver a strategic, coordinated approach to tackle youth violence in their local areas."
- We support the World Health Organisation (WHO) public health approach to reducing violent crime as it aims to consider the underlying causes of the issue, and identify risk factors. By identifying early indicators of violence, agencies such as councils, law enforcement, youth work and youth justice charities, can intervene early and establish preventative programmes.
- We know that addressing violence is not a single agency issue. Local partners have to develop and deliver a strategic, coordinated approach to tackle youth violence in their local areas.
- Councils play a key role in reducing violence, bringing together partners through their strategic and operational role spanning enforcement (for example the sale of knives and acid), early intervention, prevention in relation to violent crime and provision of support to victims of violence.
- We are extremely concerned by the activity of county lines gangs that often exploit children, young people and vulnerable adults to commit crimes. They use coercion, intimidation, violence and weapons to assert control. This is an issue which affects all local areas.
- While councils have largely managed to protect children’s social care budgets by prioritising these over other services, an increase in demand for acute services has forced many authorities to divert spending away from preventative and early intervention into services to protect children who are at immediate risk of harm.
- The positive work of councils in supporting the life chances of children and young people is illustrated by the latest Ofsted data on children’s social care, which shows that, in 2017/18, the proportion of council children’s services rated good or outstanding has increased. Without a sustainable, long-term funding solution, councils will struggle to continue this good work and deliver long-term benefits for children, families and communities.
- Councils need guaranteed, long-term funding commitments to ensure that they can develop programmes that will consistently protect and care for all children and young people, but especially those that are vulnerable.
Read the full briefing
A public health model to reduce youth violence, House of Commons, 13 December 2018