As well as targeted additional funding from the Home Office to various forces, including Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire in our region, the University of Leicester has been successful in bidding for Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funding too, to tackle violence and the use of weapons.
This means policing professionals and academic researchers can work together to develop the best insights and long term prevention for the region’s benefit. Taking a what works approach, the joint team will explore how to use the latest thinking in public health approaches, as has been seen to benefit Glasgow, Merseyside and Cardiff in the past, as well as seeking fresh additional innovations. The more holistic approach advocated is to seek out the roots of vulnerability to try and find lasting solutions and get interventions in place earlier to reduce tragic occurrences of knife attacks on our streets.
Dr Matt Hopkins and Dr Claire Davis, of the University of Leicester, will be leading the ESRC Impact Accelerator group for the next two years. Relevant police leads have already been brought together (on 12th September) at Leicester to chart future work. Here, force leads for Violence Reduction Units, along with senior analysts with experience working with violence and weapons data explored how more joined-up data can help inform the battle against the use of weapons.
The next stage now is in drilling into the detail of the new research to:-
-Develop a network for knowledge exchange/ to disseminate good practice in order to influence policy and practice:
-Design and conduct future research that meets the needs of practitioner’s and is easily transferable into practice/ impact:
-Ensure impact and sustainability of the partnership beyond the initial ESRC funding period (until 2021).
Further meetings will now take place in January 2020.
Anyone interested should contact Matt at:- mh330@leicester.ac.uk
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