A Serious Violence Reduction Strategy has been launched in South Yorkshire.
The Serious Violence Duty (SVD) which came into effect at the end of January 2023 places an obligation on Specified Authorities in each of the 43 police force areas across England and Wales to cooperate to tackle serious violence.
The Specified Authorities are:
- South Yorkshire Police
- South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
- Youth Offending Service
- Probation Service
- Integrated Care Board
- Sheffield City Council
- The City of Doncaster Council
- Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
- Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
The Strategy for South Yorkshire has been developed in partnership between these authorities, and sets out South Yorkshire’s approach to address serious violence over the next three years.
This builds on work already taking place in South Yorkshire, which since 2019 has had its own Home Office-funded Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), working with partners and community groups to prevent and reduce violence across the county.
Work on the Serious Violence Reduction Strategy has been coordinated by the VRU/SVD Executive Board, which is chaired by the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings.
You can read the Strategy here.
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Chair of the VRU/SVD Executive Board, said: “Serious violence is an important issue, affecting not just victims, perpetrators, and families, but whole communities.
“Any initiatives and funding to tackle this issue must be welcomed, as doing so will make our communities and residents safer.
“I welcome the publication of South Yorkshire’s Serious Violence Reduction Strategy, which has been developed as a collaborative effort over the last twelve months.
“As an area with an existing VRU, the Serious Violence Duty represents an opportunity to strengthen existing work in this area, and build on the work done with partners and community groups over the last four years.”
