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Violence Prevention Toolkit

A summary of the best available research evidence on approaches to preventing children and young people’s involvement in violence. It tells you about the average impact of each approach, the quality of the evidence, and the average cost.

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Showing 41 of 41

  • Nutrition programmes

    Programmes that aim to improve nutrition to support brain development and regulate behaviour
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – Skills Programmes

    Structured programmes that use cognitive behavioural techniques to teach practical skills for managing emotions, solving problems, and responding safely to conflict.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Clinical Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

    A therapeutic treatment delivered by trained therapists that helps children recognise and manage negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Focused deterrence

    A strategy that combines communicating the consequences of violence with support for developing positive routes away from it.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Social and Emotional Learning-Targeted

    An approach that develops children’s ability to regulate their emotions and communicate effectively.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Sports programmes

    Secondary or tertiary prevention programmes which engage children in organised sports or physical activity
    Cost
    ?
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Trauma-specific therapies  

    Specialist therapies which aim to support individual recovery from trauma.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • A and E navigators

    Programmes that place case workers in accident and emergency departments to support children and young people with a violence-related injury.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Summer employment programmes  

    Paid work placements for young people during the summer holidays.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Informal pre-court diversion

    Diverting children away from court and avoiding a criminal record.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Restorative justice

    A process that supports someone who has committed a crime to understand the harms their actions caused and to seek to repair those harms.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HIGH

  • Social and Emotional Learning-Universal

    An approach that develops children’s ability to regulate their emotions and communicate effectively.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Formal pre-court diversion

    Diverting children away from court.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Problem-oriented policing

    A proactive policing approach that focuses on identifying the root causes of crime and developing tailored responses
    Cost
    ?
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Mentoring

    Mentors provide children and young people with guidance and support.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Relationship violence prevention lessons and activities

    Programmes that aim to prevent violence in intimate relationships.  
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Multi-Systemic Therapy

    A family therapy programme for children at risk of placement in either care or custody
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Custody aftercare and resettlement programmes 

    Programmes that seek to address children's needs and support reintegration into the community.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Hot spots policing

    A police strategy that targets resources and activities to places where crime is most concentrated.
    Cost
    ?
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Bystander interventions to prevent sexual assault

    Programmes that help young people to identify and intervene in potential sexual assaults
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Stop and search

    Police powers to stop and search a person for carrying an unlawful item.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Youth Clubs

    Open-access spaces that provide a safe, supportive environment where young people can socialise and take part in activities.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Functional Family Therapy (FFT)  

    A family-based therapy which helps to promote positive communication between parents and children.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    MODERATE

  • Parenting programmes

    Programmes which help parents and their children to develop positive behaviours and relationships.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    LOW

  • Communities that Care

    A structured approach that trains and supports groups of local people to develop and implement an evidence-based plan for violence prevention.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    LOW

  • Adventure and Wilderness Therapy

    Challenge-based activities and therapies undertaken in outdoor settings.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    LOW

  • Interventions to prevent school exclusion

    Interventions which aim to prevent children becoming excluded or suspended from school.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    LOW

  • Anti-bullying programmes

    School-based programmes designed to reduce bullying
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    LOW

  • After-school programmes

    Programmes which take place after school and involve academic support, enrichment, or social skills development.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    LOW

  • CCTV

    Using closed-circuit television (CCTV) to prevent violence.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    LOW

  • Street lighting

    Using street lighting to prevent violence.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    NO
    EFFECT

  • Prison awareness programmes

    Programmes which deter children and young people from crime by demonstrating the realities of life in prison
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HARMFUL

  • Boot camps

    Military-style boot camps for young people who have been convicted of an offence
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    1 2 3 4 5
    Impact
    HARMFUL

  • Detached Youth Work

    A street-based approach where youth workers engage with children in their own environment, such as streets, parks, or shopping centres.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    Impact

  • Summer Schools

    Education programmes held in the summer holidays
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    Impact

  • Arts programmes

    Programmes that engage children in arts and creative activities.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    Impact

  • Knife crime education programmes

    Programmes that aim to prevent knife crime by educating children about the risks and harms caused by carrying a knife.
    Cost
    Evidence quality
    Impact

  • Knife surrender schemes

    Initiatives to enable people to safely hand in weapons at designated locations.
    Cost
    ?
    Evidence quality
    Impact

  • Media campaigns

    Raising awareness of the risks and consequences of involvement in violence.
    Cost
    ?
    Evidence quality
    Impact

  • Trauma-informed training and service redesign

    Training staff and redesigning services with an explicit focus on recognising trauma and avoiding re-traumatisation.
    Cost
    ?
    Evidence quality
    Impact

  • Police in schools

    Police officers working in schools to prevent crime and violence
    Cost
    ?
    Evidence quality
    Impact