Green, Jonathan (2025) Violence Reduction Programmes in England and Wales: the case for change. Doctoral thesis, University of West London.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the implementation and impact of Violence Reduction Units (VRUs) in England and Wales. Since 2019, national funding has totalled over £160 million, with a further £75 million allocated for 2025. Despite this significant investment, serious youth violence persists, and comprehensive evaluations of VRU effectiveness remain limited. The research addresses this gap through a mixed-methods approach, combining a national survey of all VRUs with in-depth qualitative interviews involving VRU staff, frontline practitioners, and community partners. The analysis integrates a realist-informed evaluation of VRU strategies, delivery frameworks, and outcome measurement.
The findings reveal that VRUs face substantial constraints due to short-term, centrally directed funding models that prioritise compliance with national objectives over local adaptation. Such planned change frameworks have led to fragmented service delivery and limited community engagement, undermining the potential of public health approaches to violence reduction. While there are examples of promising practice, notably in areas where community-led, co-produced interventions have been developed, these remain isolated and are rarely integrated across systems.
The research proposes a new theoretical framework - the Critical Mass to Chain Reaction approach - which draws on emergent change theory and advocates for adaptive leadership, collaborative governance, and iterative learning. This framework challenges the dominance of hierarchical, linear models of planned change by prioritising community ownership, reflexive practice, and the capacity to adapt to dynamic and evolving forms of violence. It identifies the conditions that enable local partnerships to move from isolated instances of innovation to sustained systemic change.
The study contributes to the literature on violence prevention and change management by offering a detailed critique of VRU practice and policy design. It provides actionable recommendations for policymakers, commissioners, and practitioners on how to shift from static, target-driven frameworks to more emergent, community-centred models of violence reduction. These insights have relevance for broader policy areas, including public health, youth justice, and education.
The thesis argues that unless there is a fundamental reorientation towards locally adaptive, emergent change, the ambition to reduce serious violence sustainably will remain unfulfilled. It concludes that achieving real impact requires a move from planned change models towards hybrid, locally driven approaches that foreground the voices and experiences of those most affected by violence.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Identifier:	10.36828/thesis/13928
Subjects:	Social sciences
Depositing User:	Jonathan Green
Date Deposited:	30 Jul 2025 14:35
Last Modified:	05 Aug 2025 09:30
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/13928

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