Citysafe take action to further reduce serious violence in Liverpool

A blueprint to further reduce serious violence in Liverpool is being launched on Monday 11 March.

The Liverpool Community Safety Partnership – known locally as Citysafe – ‘Serious Violence Reduction Plan’ outlines a series of priorities to tackle the issue, which will be delivered by a range of partners including the emergency services, probation, education, prisons and the voluntary and community sector.

There has already been success in reducing serious violence in Liverpool over the last year or so, with a number of projects set up to disrupt organised crime and encourage young people to make the right choices.

Examples have included the EVOLVE partnership in Dovecot, Yew Tree and parts of Knowsley, funded by the Home Office, that was established following the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, which has led to an increase in arrests and intelligence provided by the local community, together with falls in crime.

In Liverpool, between October 2022 and September 2023:

Murders reduced by 87% (15 > 2)
Shootings fell by 48% (23 > 12)
Gun crime dropped by 42% (139 > 81)
Knife crime was down 29% (815 > 578)

There was also a reduction of 12% in the number of cases of violence with injury, down from 6,942 to 6,114.

Despite recent positive reductions, even one victim of violence is one too many.

The Serious Violence Reduction Plan acknowledges that violence is preventable, but it takes a collective effort from everyone in society to prevent it.

It focuses on four key priorities, based on feedback from consultations and engagement sessions with residents, community organisations and young people.

Liverpool Skyline — Credit: The Guide Liverpool

The priorities are:

Families
Education
Youth Services
Underlying causes

Plans include doing more to support parents to mitigate the risk of their children experiencing serious violence; reviewing and updating resources for schools; training more youth workers through apprenticeships; improving drug treatment pathways and breaking drug supply chains.

The Plan will be launched at the half-yearly Serious Violence Community Forum which is taking place at Goodison Park, and provides a networking and engagement opportunity for all partners and community stakeholders.

Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins, Chair of the Citysafe Board and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Housing said:

“Liverpool has unfortunately witnessed a number of high profile, shocking murders in recent years.

“However, those tragic incidents, and the subsequent response from communities, has strengthened our resolve to stop any more senseless deaths.

“At times like these, people often say that more needs to be done, so this is our plan to inform, co-ordinate, promote and govern work and resources to tackle serious violence in the city.

“Preventing and reducing serious violence is a key priority for the city and we are committed to working together to achieve that goal.”