In 2019, the Home Office announced that 18 police force areas (PFAs) would receive funding to establish (or build upon existing) Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) as part of the Serious Violence Fund. In 2022, a further 2 PFAs received funding to establish VRUs. The aim of VRUs is to lead and coordinate a preventative, whole-system approach to violence reduction, which comprises:

• multi-agency working
• data sharing and analysis
• engaging young people and communities
• commissioning (and delivering) evidence-based interventions

Informed by the findings and recommendations from previous VRU evaluation reports, there was a particular policy focus for 2022 and beyond to:

• further strengthen multi-agency working
• encourage and support the sustainability of VRUs
• improve the quality and granularity of data accessed, and the analysis of this
• commission and develop the evidence for high-impact interventions

The Serious Violence Fund also covers Grip (formerly Surge) activity, which is enforcement focused. Combined, VRU and Grip funding represents a total investment of £315 million over 4 years to tackle serious violence (SV). PFAs with the highest (historical) counts of violence – specifically, hospital admissions resulting from violent injury with a sharp object – were selected for funding. The Home Office commissioned: Ecorys UK; Ipsos UK; the University of Hull; and the University of Exeter to evaluate VRUs in their fourth year of operation (April 2022 to March 2023). The aims of the evaluation were to:

• estimate the impact of VRUs (and SV funding) on violence
• assess the progress made, particularly in the last year, by VRUs towards a whole-system approach

The mixed-methods evaluation included desk-based research, qualitative research with a range of stakeholders in each VRU, and quasi-experimental designs.