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One of the two main aims of the Violence Reduction Unit is to reduce violence through enforcement and prevention. We aim to contain and manage the problem of violence as it manifests itself on our streets and in our homes, using traditional and innovative techniques. The Safer Scotland Anti-Violence campaign is key to this.

The campaign is supported by the Scottish Executive and delivered throughout Scotland by ACPOS. This year wider support is being sought to:

• engage Community Safety Partnerships
• empower parents / communities to take action themselves by offering support to challenge this behaviour

The campaign will commence in October 2007. It will continue to challenge the culture of violence in Scotland by working with partners and communities to contain and manage the problem of violence. 

Why Communities?

This communities-based focus links in with the Violence Reduction Unit’s belief that violence is everybody’s problem. From the outset, we have stressed that the police alone cannot change Scotland’s deep-rooted culture of violence. Only by working with others – be they in the health service, education departments or communities themselves – can we begin to make significant inroads. Communities are key to this. Too many people in too many communities accept violence as part of everyday life – they have become immune to it. We want these communities to lower their tolerance to violence, to refuse to accept it as part of everyday life, and to work with us to make Scotland a better, safer place to be.

Who is involved?

Forces accross Scotland including British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police will be taking part in this year’s Safer Scotland Anti-Violence Campaign.

The VRU will link up with all 32 Scottish Community Safety Partnerships to deliver the three strands of the campaign. However, those that have the highest incidences of non-sexual violent crime and have violence / campaign themes as priorities will be expected to engage more actively.

They are: City of Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, City of Edinburgh, North Lanarkshire, Dundee City, Clackmannanshire, Aberdeen City, South Lanarkshire, Argyll & Bute, East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire and East Dunbartonshire. Stirling, Midlothian and the Highlands, who fall into the top 14 areas for offensive weapon crimes per 10,000 population, also fall into this group.

Campaigns

• Communities Against Knives: 1–19th October 2007
• Communities Against Alcohol Fuelled Violence: 3–21st December 2007
• Working with Collective Violence* : 3–28th March 2008

Campaign Events

• Weapons & Alcohol Fuelled Violence Conference:   26th September 2007 – National Museum for Scotland, Edinburgh
• Working with Collective Violence:   28th November 2007 – Barony Hall, Glasgow 
  

                             
*Collective Violence 
The term “Collective Violence” comes from the definition given by the World Health Organisation’s Violence Injury Prevention unit – “the instrumental use of violence by people who identify themselves as members of a group – whether this group is transitory or has a more permanent identity – against another group or set of individuals, in order to achieve political, economic or social objectives.”  The VRU consider Collective Violence to include any motivation for violence being partly or wholly instigated by the fact the perpetrators act as one in groups.

The VRU has recently appointed a new National Anti Violence Co-ordinator who will work with police forces throughout Scotland to continue the positive enforcement work. 

Chief Inspector Cameron Cavin
National Anti Violence Co-ordinator
Email: cameron.cavin@strathclyde.pnn.police.uk
Tel: 0141 532 5893