Purpose

Since 2019, senior GMP officers embedded in the VRU have provided strategic coordination, governance and oversight across knife crime and serious violence activity in Greater Manchester. Previous national funding streams enabled both frontline delivery and senior leadership roles to be funded as part of a single programme; however, the transition from the Hotspot Action Fund to the Knife Crime Concentration Fund (KCCF) has created a structural funding gap for force wide leadership roles.

The KCCF is tightly prescribed and cannot be used to fund senior leadership posts whose remit spans governance, performance management, partnership coordination and national engagement. Without alternative funding, these roles would be absorbed into other portfolios or removed, weakening strategic ownership, accountability and system coordination across violence reduction activity.

The VRU Superintendent and Chief Inspector provide unique strategic functions that cannot be replicated through district level or delivery focused structures. This includes governance of multi million pound programmes, force wide standardisation of approaches to habitual knife carriers, alignment with public health and partnership priorities, and assurance to GMCA, partners and national stakeholders.

Providing time limited GMCA funding mitigates these risks, maintains continuity of leadership during a challenging fiscal period for GMP, and allows sufficient time for longer term sustainability options to be explored beyond 2028.

Decision

GMCA funding will be provided to support two GMP senior leadership posts within Greater Manchester’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU):
• 1 Superintendent
• 1 Chief Inspector
The funding will be provided for a two year period (2026/27 and 2027/28) with a total value of £500,724, to sustain strategic leadership, governance and system oversight of the knife crime and serious violence portfolio.