Focused Deterrence
In 2021, Youth Endowment Fund developed the Agency Collaboration Fund: Another chance, which is one of a suite of large-scale projects aiming to improve the evidence base around multi-agency collaborations to prevent violence. Focused deterrence (FD) is a multi-agency violence reduction approach that uses deterrence messaging and enforcement, desistance support and community influence.
Evaluation type
Funding round
Agency Collaboration: Focused deterrenceActivity Type
Setting
Evaluator
| Project | Funding | Region |
|---|---|---|
| West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit | £1,945,000 | West Midlands |
What does this project involve?
In this project, Focused Deterrence (FD) was implemented across five sites in England (Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton). Delivery was led by a multi-agency partnership consisting of the Violence Reduction Unit, the police, other statutory services (including probation, youth justice and social work) and voluntary organisations. Children and adults at risk of or involved in group-related violence were made aware that there would be consequences if they continued to offend, were offered support (such as with mental health, housing, education or employment) and a support worker for 3–6 months. If they continued to offend, they were referred to the police to face enforcement and disruption activities. Delivery concluded in March 2026 with outcome data collection scheduled for August 2026. This is an interim report covering an update on sampling and delivery.
Why did YEF fund this project?
Focused deterrence has a promising international evidence base for reducing serious violence. However, most evaluations have been conducted in the US with little robust evidence from the UK. Given the approach’s potential to reduce violence, the YEF and the Home Office funded Another Chance to provide a more rigorous assessment of the approach’s impact, implementation and generalisability in England and Wales.
The evaluation adopted a two-arm randomised controlled trial, randomly assigning participants into the intervention or a control group, alongside an implementation and process evaluation (IPE). As part of the IPE, interviews were conducted with 66 young people, including 30 repeat interviews as well as 84 interviews with delivery and programme team members. Researchers undertook 77 days of field observations documenting these through daily written reflections. By August 2025, 2,976 individuals had been randomised. 40% of children in the trial were White; 11% were from mixed or multiple ethnic groups; 11% were Asian or Asian British; 21% were Black, Black British, Caribbean or African; and 1% identified as from another ethnic group.
This report, using the IPE interviews and observations, aims to answer formative questions on how deterrence is being implemented, how multi-agency working is shaping delivery, what has influenced engagement with the support, and how delivery has differed between police and VRU-led sites.
Key conclusions
| The study has achieved the required sample size, as it successfully recruited 2,976 participants. |
| Although deterrence was initially challenging, over time, sites have strengthened deterrence through practical changes, frameworks and multi-agency working. Some challenges remain in communicating deterrence to young people while operating in a context of lengthy delays in the court system. |
| VRU-led interventions committed more time to engaging participants and achieved a higher take-up of support through navigators. However, they were less consistent in delivering deterrence messaging. In contrast, police-led sites tended to place more emphasis on structured delivery, goal-focused behaviour change and compliance. |
| Delivery success depends on substantial multi-agency working, preparation, strong governance and initial and ongoing investment in the cultural, administrative, community and technical elements of the partnerships. |
| Participants’ initial engagement with support was influenced by trust in navigators and family gatekeeping. Continued engagement was more influenced by peers, daily routines and mismatched aims. |
What will YEF do next?
The next phase of the study will estimate the impact of the programme on offending using police data and extend the IPE analysis. The final report will be published in late 2027.