Warwickshire communities at risk from serious violence will benefit from the launch of a new strategy to tackle both the occurrences and underlying causes of violence.
The Serious Violence Prevention Strategy 2024-30 sets out how members of the Safer Warwickshire Partnership will deliver on a shared long-term commitment to prevent violence before it happens and keep communities safe.
Members of the Partnership include Warwickshire Police, Probation Services, Warwickshire Youth Justice, Warwickshire Fire and Rescue, the local Integrated Care Board, District and Borough Councils and Warwickshire County Council.
The strategy also sets out how the partner agencies will respond to the immediate risk of violence as well as developing long-term support for local communities.
Whilst Warwickshire is a safe place to live, it is not immune to serious violence and the strategy acknowledges the devastating impact that violence can have, tearing families apart, dividing friends, and creating fear in our schools and our communities.
Preventing serious violence is everyone’s business and the new strategy also sets out what schools and local community and voluntary organisations can do to prevent violence and reduce its impact.
The vision of the Safer Warwickshire Partnership is that Warwickshire is a place where people recognise the causes of violence, break the cycle and prevent further serious violent crime occurring, thereby reducing serious violent crime rates in the county.
Cllr Andy Crump, Portfolio Holder for Community Safety at Warwickshire County Council said: “Here in Warwickshire we have always had strong links with our partners, which has created a robust approach to crime and community safety.
“The Serious Violence Prevention Strategy will enhance the current offering from the Council and its partners to help Warwickshire's communities and individuals to be safe, healthy and independent.
“We look forward to working with our partners to help continue our ongoing community safety work across the county.”
The Warwickshire definition of Serious Violence includes all forms of domestic abuse; County Lines; violence involving a weapon; personal/group conflict and feuds; social media driven violence; and the causes of violence.
In forming the new strategy, several case studies of people involved in serious violence were analysed to understand if there were similar factors in their lives that affected involvement in violent conflict or criminality, and this proved to be the case.
The Safer Warwickshire Partnership is committed to working together and taking every opportunity to prevent violence, offering pathways out for individuals or groups involved in serious violent conflict when they are motivated to change.
The new Safer Warwickshire Serious Violence Prevention Strategy can be read at: https://democracy.warwickshire.gov.uk/mgConvert2PDF.aspx?ID=34835
If you need help, you can find more information on the Safe In Warwickshire website at https://safeinwarwickshire.com/violence.
A range of support options can also be accessed at: https://www.talk2someone.org.uk/
WCC’s Community Safety Team and the Safe in Warwickshire Partnership can offer Serious Violence Prevention (SVP) training for colleagues and partners, including dates both in person or hosted on Teams. The available dates for SVP training in 2024 can be found here.