Kent and Medway Violence Reduction Unit Email Formats

About Kent and Medway Violence Reduction Unit

Kent and Medway Violence Reduction Unit is a partnership between the police, local councils, health service providers and other key agencies to deliver a reduction in violence across the county. It has a focus on young people, reflecting the prevalence of violence in this age group, and takes a public health approach. Established in 2019 and funded by the Home Office, we are one of 20 VRUs across the country providing leadership and strategic coordination of local responses to preventing and reducing violence. While violence in Kent and Medway is not as prevalent as some of the larger cities such as London and Manchester, there are significant challenges to address, with the most frequent types of violence being violence with injury, knife and weapon, robbery and violence linked to drug supply. Kent and Medway’s geography and demography are key considerations, and the county spans a very large area. We’re home to 1,855,800 people, where community identities are often town-based rather than county aligned, and higher areas of deprivation correlate with increased prevalence of violence. We have built strong partnerships and are making good progress leading a multi-agency response across the county, with our co-ordinators recognised as playing an integral role. We deliver a wide range of projects, programmes and interventions that are having impact on the ground, as demonstrated by the findings of the 23/24 Annual Report, which show a reduction in violence across key areas.

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