Greater Manchester Mayor visits Bury community partnership formed by Violence Reduction Unit

Community organisations in Bury met with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Deputy Mayor Bev Hughes last Thursday (4th August) to discuss plans for the community-led programme in the town.

The programme will focus on mentoring programmes providing positive role models for young people and families at risk or vulnerable to serious youth violence and criminal exploitation, youth work activities, school-based interventions to support those at risk of exclusion, and community sports-based interventions.

Organisations in Bury will form a partnership to deliver the programme.

Bury is the fifth borough in the city-region to receive funding from the VRU as part of its investment in community-led programmes, outlined in Greater Manchester’s Serious Violence Action Plan.

The community-led programmes enable the VRU to work closely with communities to understand the strengths, challenges, and needs of the community and determine how local investments will be made.

During the visit to Bury Defence Academy, Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester said: “It was fantastic to meet with organisations that will deliver the community-led programme of work in Bury over the next 12 months. The community-led programmes we have already rolled out in other boroughs of Greater Manchester have created a significant impact by providing opportunities for young people to engage in positive activities, have access to mentors and positive role models.

“We are pleased that GMP is taking a more proactive approach to reducing serious violence with increased arrests and stop and search, but we need more than just a policing response. Early intervention and prevention work is vital and that is where our innovative community-led approach to violence reduction comes in.

“The community-led approach to violence reduction strengthens relationships and trust between the community and partners from the voluntary and statutory sectors, improves how information is shared and is used to inform decision making, and creates opportunities for integrated working. I look forward to coming back and seeing the impact of the programme in Bury.”

The Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) was launched in October 2019 and brings together Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the National Probation Service as well as health, education, and youth justice services and the VCSE sector to address the underlying causes of violent crime and to work together to prevent it.

Ifti Ahmed, Chairman of Bury Defence Academy said: “Forming a partnership with other local organisations who really understand the community will allow us to create even more positive outcomes for young people.

“A grassroots, bottom-up, collaborative approach is precisely what is needed to reduce the number of young people being drawn into violence.

“We look forward to working with our partners whilst utilising our organisational expertise in combat sports, youth work, and the lived experience of our team of volunteers, to help transform the lives of young people in East Bury and beyond.”

Councillor Richard Gold, Bury Council’s cabinet member for finance and communities, added: “Tackling anti-social behaviour and reducing violence are key elements of Bury’s Community Safety Plan. This aims to reduce serious violence by applying the principles of early intervention, prevention and partnership working which are at the heart of Bury’s community strategy Let’s do it!

“We are incredibly proud of the energy and innovation of our community groups in taking this approach forward, through the VRU, to ensure that young people understand the consequences of violence and are supported to develop the skills and confidence to avoid it.”

Greater Manchester’s VRU has worked with 10GM – a joint venture of VCSE sector infrastructure organisations in Greater Manchester – to drive forward this programme of work.