A FUNDING boost of almost £3.4m was confirmed today by the Home Office that will see the creation of a dedicated Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) in West Yorkshire led and co-ordinated through the Office of Police & Crime Commissioner.

Violence Reduction Units will bring together police, local government, public health, voluntary/third sector, community leaders and other key partners to tackle violent crime and its underlying causes.

They will be responsible for identifying the drivers of serious violence locally and develop a coordinated response to tackle them.

Following the announcement, West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Mark Burns-Williamson, said: "The Violence Reduction Unit will not just revolve around one element of violent crime, like knife crime, but will be used across all aspects.

"It will centre heavily on early intervention and prevention, bolstering many of the local projects which we have already and previously been engaged with.

"We made it clear in our initial submission in establishing the VRU that improving the support provided to victims, as well as witnesses, close relatives and friends who may also be traumatised by what has happened to them, is a high priority."