Focused Deterrence works with young people who have been identified as habitual knife carriers by the police.
It is one of the High Impact interventions identified in the national Youth Endowment Fund Toolkit. It is in essence a “carrot and stick” approach helping to divert young people from crime through support, but also enforcement if they continue to offend.
Under the Focused Deterrence model, a range of intensive, tailored and targeted support is offered together with consistent case management. Alongside this support-first offer is procedurally-just policing, ensuring any intelligence is acted upon, enforcement is swift and robust, criminal justice processes are followed and there is good communication with the individual and with multi-agency partners.
In 2023, the Violence Prevention Partnership tested the delivery of a centrally-funded, locally delivered model of Focused Deterrence in partnership with Milton Keynes Council. It was shown to be highly impactful, with a 54% reduction in crime harm (see the full evaluation report here). This learning is now informing the way it will be implemented for the year ahead.
In 2025/2026, we will distribute Home Office funding to five partnership areas where there are the highest levels of serious violence in order to establish and deliver the intervention locally. This includes Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Reading, Slough and Oxfordshire.