Vulnerability and violent crime – join our online seminars

Our new online seminar series gives everyone in policing the opportunity to hear and discuss the findings of the latest research from the vulnerability and violent crime programme.

The seminars, running throughout July, will each focus on specific themes related to vulnerability or violent crime and provide an opportunity for you to hear about local force practice, what worked well (and what didn’t) and to discuss implications.

Building the evidence base

Speakers will draw on a number of evaluation reports, written in collaboration with police forces in England and Wales, exploring:

• how each intervention was designed and implemented
• what conditions are needed to enable the intervention to operate effectively
• the cost effectiveness of the intervention
• the overall impact on crime and other relevant outcomes
• whether the intervention could be applied to other areas or other crime types

The associated summaries and full technical reports will be published here each week, in advance of the seminar. So bookmark this page and check for updates.

Session 1 

Serious violence – diversion interventions

7 July, 10am to 12pm

Findings from the evaluation of two interventions:

DIVERT

Delivered in custody suites across the Metropolitan Police. Custody intervention coaches meet with young people to understand their main challenges and offer support and access to services.

Community initiative to reduce violence (CIRV)

Delivered by Northamptonshire Police. Referrals from a range of sources are assessed based on individual needs, and allocated appropriate support to divert people at risk of gang involvement into a range of local services.

Related resources

• DIVERT: Key findings and implications for practice (pdf) 184.53 KB
• DIVERT: Full technical report (pdf) 2.99 MB
• CIRV: Key findings and implications for practice (pdf) 199.44 KB
• CIRV: Full technical report (pdf) 1.98 MB

Session 2

Early intervention for vulnerable children

13 July, 10am to 12pm

Findings from the evaluation of three interventions:

Trusted adult workers (TAWs)

Introduced in Hampshire as part of a collaboration between the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Hampshire Constabulary, and local authorities. Trained and specifically funded TAWs provide support for children and families experiencing adverse childhood experiences.

Think family early intervention (TFEI)

Delivered by Avon and Somerset Police. Police community support officers (PCSOs) and PCs visit and offer support to families who fall below the threshold for receiving help from the local authority, but still have policing and/or crime related issues.

Family safety plans (FSPs) in cases of neglect

Implemented in child abuse investigation teams (CAITs) across Hampshire Constabulary to address the need to evidence wilful neglect. CAIT teams worked with social care and health services early in a case, developing SMART plans with families to support changes in behaviour and to avoid the need for a prosecution.

Related resources

• TAWs: Key findings and implications for practice (pdf) 214.56 KB
• TAWs: Full technical report (pdf) 1.64 MB
• TFEI: Key findings and implications for practice (pdf) 176.33 KB
• TFEI: Full technical report (pdf) 3.69 MB
• FSPs: Key findings and implications for practice (pdf) 188.65 KB
• FSPs: Full technical report (pdf) 2.33 MB

Session 3

Risk assessment and management

21 July, 10.30am to 12pm

Findings from the evaluation of two interventions:

High harm perpetrator unit (HHPU)

Set up by Surrey Police following a decision to shift the focus of their offender management units to those offenders causing most harm, rather than frequent offenders causing little harm. The approach aimed to identify offenders via traditional means as well as by two novel means: an algorithm and through external referrals by other police units and external agencies.

SAM / SARAv3 national pilot

West Midlands Police, Cumbria Police and Lancashire Constabulary trialled the use of two structured professional judgement tools for assessing the risk of stalking and the risk of domestic violence. The tools were the spousal assault risk assessment (SARA) version 3 and the stalking assessment and management (SAM) tool.

Related resources

• HHPU: Full technical report (pdf) 1.96 MB
• HHPU: Key findings and implications for practice (pdf) 186,31 KB
• SARA/SAM: Full technical report (pdf) 1.98 MB
• SARA/SAM: Key findings and implications for practice (pdf) 180.96 KB

Session 4

Knife crime – early intervention

28 July, 10am to 12pm

Findings from the evaluation of two interventions:

Op Divan

Delivered by North Yorkshire Police who made home or school visits to those at risk of carrying knives.

Op Met Divan

A 'replication' of Op Divan delivered in three South London boroughs by the Metropolitan Police. We have also undertaken additional exploratory analysis of the Op Met Divan cohort to see what can be learned about the backgrounds and prior experiences of young people, identified by Op Met Divan.

Related resources

• Op Divan: Full technical report (pdf) (992.5 KB)
• Op Divan: Key findings and implications (pdf) (196.44 KB)
• Op Met Divan: Full technical report (pdf) (935.48 KB)
• Op Met Divan: Key findings and implications (pdf) (209.58 KB)
• Op Met Divan: On the edges of knife crime – an exploratory analysis of young people (pdf) (622.27 KB)