Description

Government funding will be used for several short and long-term projects aimed at diverting people away from violence. Liverpool Nightlife CIC will be working in partnership with the Merseyside Police Commissioner to ensure that NTE businesses fully engage with the projects.

Key Activity

It was recently confirmed that Merseyside will receive £3.37m to fund a new Violence Reduction Unit. First announced in June when Merseyside were provisionally awarded the funding from the Home Secretary’s Serious Violence Fund, it has now been confirmed and discussions are taking place about the new unit.

The unit will bring together local police, health and education professionals, community leaders and other key stakeholders to understand the causes of serious violence in Merseyside and agree a coordinated response. The funding will be used for several short and long-term projects aimed at diverting people away from violence, including working with charities to support children at risk of being excluded from school, criminal exploitation or committing serious violence.

Jane Kennedy, Merseyside PCC said: “This is good news and a welcome boost to all those professionals and community and voluntary heroes who have already committed to a public health approach to tackling serious violence in Merseyside.

“I look forward to working closely with Merseyside Police and their partners to establish lasting change to save lives.”

One condition the government has set is that the money must all be spent by April 2020. It follows on from a successful bid for a total of £4.2m in “surge funding” to enable Merseyside Police to deliver short term operational activities to tackle serious violence, focussing on reducing and reacting to street violence. Liverpool Nightlife CIC will be actively working in partnership with the Merseyside Police Commissioner to ensure that NTE businesses fully engage with the projects.

Stakeholders

• Liverpool City Council
• Merseyside Police
• Merseyside Police Commissioner
• Liverpool’s NTI
• CitySafe