Last week, the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, hosted a Breakfast Briefing at the Palace of Westminster.
Sponsored by Preet Gill MP, the well-attended briefing brought together parliamentarians, academics, and policymakers to explore the evidence behind interventions targeting knife crime and domestic abuse.
In light of the Labour Government's committment to halving knife crime and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) within a decade, the briefing focused on the evaluation findings of research from knife crime and domestic abuse interventions. A summary of the research can be found here.
Following a lively Q & A session, several evidence-based programmes were discussed. These included:
- United Borders B.U.S programme. University of Birmingham completed a feasibility and pilot study. An efficacy study will be commissioned. Funded by the Youth Endowment Fund.
- REMEDI. The pilot study is published, efficacy study is ongoing and will report late this year/early next year. Funded by the Youth Endowment Fund.
- Op Divan process evaluation (not undertaken by UoB).
Additionally, POST (Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology) has now called for evidence on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in schools, and among children and young people. Their aim is to evaluate existing interventions and identify the challenges and barriers to effective implementation in school-aged populations. Findings are expected to be published in August 2025. More information, including how to contribute, is here.
As part of ongoing work in the area, we will be holding a further event in the Autumn.
