University of Leicester partners with local Violence Reduction Network and Home Office to tackle violent crime

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Violence Reduction Network, in partnership with the University of Leicester and the Home Office, will welcome policy-makers, practitioners and academics from across the UK to share new research insights and best practice on preventing and reducing violence.

The conference is especially timely with the recent implementation of the Serious Violence Duty which requires specified agencies across England and Wales to work together to develop public health strategies aimed at preventing and reducing violence.

More than 150 professionals are expected to attend the ‘Serious Violence: Research and Evaluation Conference’ in Leicester, sharing learning on effective approaches to understanding the local problem of serious violence, delivering evidence-informed responses and evaluating effectiveness. Attendees will hear from a wide-range of experts from the Home Office, Youth Endowment Fund, Violence Reduction Units, Universities, research agencies and police forces.

A series of panel discussions will cover:

• Key areas of progress, challenges and future priorities in relation to serious violence policy, public health approaches, researching serious violence and evaluation.
• Insights from recent research on the nature, extent and distribution of serious violence, along with the causes and drivers of serious violence.
• Designing and implementing public health interventions aimed at preventing serious violence.
• New and innovative approaches to preventing or reducing serious violence including bystander interventions and sport programmes.
• The importance of evaluation and different approaches to assessing effectiveness.

Grace Strong, Director of LLR VRN, explained: “This conference is the ideal time to reflect on the lessons learnt from the experience of some of the 21 Violence Reduction Units operating in areas across the UK with the highest rates of serious violence.

It is also an opportunity to explore the challenges posed by the Serious Violence Duty which requires agencies across England and Wales to work together to develop strategies aimed at preventing the reducing violence.”

Dr Stevie-Jade Hardy, Head of Data, Evidence & Evaluation for the LLR VRN, said: “This conference builds on the work of the National VRU Network on Learning & Evaluation which is led by LLR’s VRN and aims to share good practice in relation to research and evaluation.

The conference provides an opportunity to hear from expert panellists who are recognised in their fields of research, policy and implementation, and to bring together a wide range of professionals to share their knowledge and ideas for future collaborative work.”

All of the conference sessions will be recorded and made available shortly after the event via the VRN website and University of Leicester webpages.

For more information about the conference and to book places on the different panel sessions, please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/serious-violence-research-and-evaluation-conference-tickets-489601761047