RE-ISSUE: Home Office funding to support targeted action on serious violence in Wiltshire and Swindon

A new round of Home Office funding awarded through the Serious Violence Duty will continue to support targeted initiatives to prevent and reduce serious violence across Wiltshire and Swindon.

The funding forms part of a new national allocation and will enable partners in policing, health, education and community services to sustain and expand proven prevention activity, strengthen early intervention, and deliver targeted action in areas and communities most affected by serious violence.

Decisions on how this funding is deployed are informed by a refreshed Strategic Needs Assessment (SNA), coordinated by the Serious Violence Joint Steering Group, which provides a clear evidence base on the scale and nature of serious violence locally.  

The new assessment shows that 764 serious violence offences were recorded in the year to September 2025, with a reported cost to society of more than £13 million and an estimated true annual cost exceeding £26 million when underreporting is taken into account. 

While Swindon and Wiltshire remain safer than comparable areas and below the national average for England and Wales, the assessment highlights that serious violence is not evenly distributed. The funding will therefore be directed towards individuals, locations and circumstances where the risk of harm is highest. 

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said the updated assessment ensures this new round of funding is targeted where it will have the greatest impact.

Mr Wilkinson said: “While Wiltshire remains a safe place to live, serious violence continues to cause lasting harm to individuals, families and communities. Addressing it requires a coordinated, system‑wide approach. 

“The Home Office funding provided through the Serious Violence Duty allows us to act on what the evidence is telling us. This refreshed needs assessment ensures that investment is focused on prevention, early intervention and protecting those most at risk. 

“By working together and using shared data and insight, we can deliver targeted action that reduces harm and improves long‑term safety across our communities.”

Since the introduction of the Serious Violence Duty in January 2023, partners across Wiltshire and Swindon have strengthened information sharing, joint problem‑solving and early intervention, embedding a more preventative, public‑health approach to tackling violence.

Funding delivered through the Duty will continue to support targeted prevention activity, early intervention for vulnerable children and young people, and initiatives aimed at reducing repeat offending and long‑term harm including:

• Focused Deterrence – Continuing a proven programme shown to significantly reduce offending and missing episodes among high‑risk individuals, through consistent engagement, tailored support and strong partnership working. 
• Synergy – A data‑led intervention delivered in partnership with police, which evaluation shows is associated with an over 80% reduction in harmful behaviours among participants and lower levels of repeat harm compared to non‑participants. 
• DiversITy – An intervention evaluated as contributing positively to engagement and learning, with further impact evaluation activity planned. 
• Stronger Futures – Investment in preventative work focused on learning and skills development, supporting positive outcomes for young people at risk. 
• Training and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) – Delivery of accredited ‘Safer Together’ training for educators, youth workers and frontline professionals, equipping them with the confidence and skills to identify risk, respond early and deliver prevention activity. 
• Psychologist‑led Early Intervention Pilot – An exploratory partnership between policing and Educational Psychology to strengthen early help for vulnerable children and young people, improve trauma‑informed decision‑making, and inform future approaches to embedding specialist psychological insight into violence prevention. 

Find out more about the Serious Violence Duty on the OPCC website.