Communities and community groups are vital in helping to reduce violence. They are the people who have lived with violence and its outcomes day in, day out, often for decades. Violent gang culture will be so ingrained in these communities that they will refer to their area by its gang name rather than its given name. Their lives, the jobs they can get, the places they can socialise will often be restricted by this.

Because of their familiarity with violence, communities and community groups are often best placed to help develop solutions. They know when and where violence is committed and can also provide valuable insight into why it is committed. Such knowledge can go beyond intelligence gathered by police or data held by education, health or social services, giving a more realistic, rounded picture of the problem on the ground.

Working with communities and community groups is something the VRU are committed to – we know that it is through them we can potentially have the most impact on violence. Through CIRV (the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence) gangs’ initiative, we have worked with a range of community groups to help tackle violence that has blighted some areas for generations. While the fruit of this labour may not be seen for another few years, the will to change for the better is evident.

To find out more about community initiatives, have a look at our Good Practice Book. For more information on CIRV, go to the CIRV pages.