The VRU brings together organisations across local communities to tackle underlying causes. It also helps fund vital local projects that undertake positive preventative work with children and young people.
The unit, which launched in early 2020, has a partnership emphasis, with specialists from health, police, local authorities, education, youth justice, prisons, probation, community groups and others.
It takes a fundamentally different approach to violence reduction, one where the public sector institutions and communities that make up West Yorkshire act together to help cut violence with early intervention, prevention, education and partnership working.
Using its innovative public health approach, the VRU does not just focus on high-risk individuals, but considers how the causes of violence can be addressed. Public health approaches start from the principle that prevention is better than cure. The progress of the unit has seen the development of a long-term strategy to tackle serious violence and is continuing its proactive work across the county.