Honest conversations about violence reduction in Merseyside
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The challenge
A Violence Reduction Unit, or VRU, is an initiative that seeks to reduce violence in an area by treating it like more of a public health problem: rather than only using a reactive approach, like locking violent people up in prison, a VRU aims for a preventative approach - like trying to lift kids out of the circumstances that push them towards violence by giving them the support they need.
Merseyside VRU - or, more accurately, VRP, as they renamed it the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership - is one such program. Part of their preventative method involves outreach, like education campaigns and community engagement. With the onset of COVID, it was especially important for them to be able to reach people online.
The approach
They chose Dialogue as the best platform to engage with Merseyside citizens about violence reduction. Merseyside VRP wanted an open, two-way discussion. They didn't want to put anyone off participating with a daunting formal consultation.
With Dialogue, everything's publicly visible - everyone can see what others have said, as well as replies from the VRP, so participants feel included in the decision. Dialogue allows site admins to customise their site, so Merseyside VRP were able to embed informative videos on how to use the Dialogue and how to stay safe online.
Dialogue allows users to set their own username, so contributions can be completely anonymous. This meant that those who have been perpetrators or victims of violence could share their views and experiences in a secure way without being identified.
The results
Using Dialogue enabled Merseyside VRP to reach out to people across the county and provide a safe space for people to share their experiences and ideas for how to make Merseyside safe for everyone.
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Dialogue will allow a safe space for Merseyside residents of all ages to voice their concerns, issues and solutions. It provides the VRP with a transparent, engaging way to involve young people in its work. It also means that young people from a large geographical area – all five boroughs – can chat at the same time about the same question.
Delib is a govtech leader specialising in consultation and engagement, trusted by over 600 government organisations worldwide, including major planning projects. Since 2004, we've been building secure, accessible digital platforms to make participation simpler, fairer, and more inclusive. Our flagship product, Citizen Space, was built in collaboration with the UK government and has supported more than 11 million responses across over 110,000 democratic activities.