Effect of focused deterrence violence intervention on adolescents and adults involved in violence
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN11650008 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN11650008 |
- Submission date
- 30/05/2023
- Registration date
- 04/06/2023
- Last edited
- 02/04/2024
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Overall study status
- Ongoing
- Condition category
- Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Focused deterrence is an intervention designed to reduce violent offending among people already involved in violence. The intervention can take several forms, but at its core are three interacting components: enforcement by police, support to desist from violence and expression of non-violence community norms.
In 2021, the Youth Endowment Fund created a framework describing a set of essential criteria for a focused deterrence intervention. The development of this framework was based on evidence from previous studies, interviews with professionals from the UK, USA, and Scandinavia, and input from an advisory group of experts. The framework was designed to allow for contextual variations across different locations, considering the history of focused deterrence programs.
In 2022, five organisations in cities in England were each funded to develop a violence prevention intervention based on this framework with the commitment that the interventions would be evaluated rigorously. The evaluation worked with the organisations to support the development of acceptable interventions and to develop a robust study design to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.
Who can participate?
People aged 14 to 40 years old. Eligibility criteria vary across sites, but typically respondents have a criminal record for violence or are at very high risk of being involved in violence.
What does the study involve?
Participants will be randomly allocated to the violence prevention intervention or control groups (business as usual). The effectiveness of the intervention will primarily be assessed by comparing the number of violent offences perpetrated by the intervention group within 1 year of randomisation compared to those perpetrated by the control group. The secondary outcomes are involvement in group offending, which will be measured as the number of crimes attributed to the individual and one (or more) co-offenders within 1 year of randomisation, and time to offence, which is the number of days from randomisation to offence (right-censored if there is no offence).
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The programme is designed to support individuals involved in violence to desist from violence through a combination of mechanisms. The benefits of participating are that the support offer can address access to opportunities that may have been denied to that individual in the past through unequal distribution of service availability or other structural disadvantage while the deterrence component can offer a viable motivation for desisting from violence. These mechanisms may help the individual avoid future physical, psychological and social harms of involvement in violence. The risks of participating are that continued involvement in violence while exposed to enhanced police attention may result in legal consequences.
Where is the study run from?
University of Hull (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
April 2022 to July 2025
Who is funding the study?
Youth Endowment Fund (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Iain Brennan, i.brennan@hull.ac.uk
Contact information
Principal Investigator
School of Criminology, Sociology and Policing
University of Hull
Hull
HU6 7RX
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0003-2131-1599 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 (0)1482465717 |
| i.brennan@hull.ac.uk |
Public
School of Criminology, Sociology and Policing
University of Hull
Hull
HU6 7RX
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)1482465717 |
|---|---|
| i.brennan@hull.ac.uk |
Scientific
School of Criminology, Sociology and Policing
University of Hull
Hull
HU6 7RX
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)1482465717 |
|---|---|
| i.brennan@hull.ac.uk |
Scientific
School of Criminology, Sociology and Policing
University of Hull
Hull
HU6 7RX
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0001-6171-1613 |
|---|---|
| t.simanovic@hull.ac.uk |
Scientific
Abertay University
School of Business Law and Social Sciences
Bell Street
Dundee
DD1 1HG
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0002-6241-5186 |
|---|---|
| w.graham@abertay.ac.uk |
Scientific
Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science
35 Tavistock Square
London
WC1H 9EZ
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0002-6784-6014 |
|---|---|
| p.mcfarlane@ucl.ac.uk |
Scientific
Research Design Consultancy
4 St. Andrew’s Park
Histon
Cambridge
CB24 9ER
United Kingdom
| ORCID ID |
0000-0003-0276-9705 |
|---|---|
| alex@researchdesign.uk |
Study information
| Study design | Multi-centred two-arm stratified randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Community |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Scientific title | Another Chance Fund Focused Deterrence programme: a multi-centred randomised controlled trial |
| Study acronym | ACF1 |
| Study hypothesis | Current study hypothesis as of 30/10/2023: H1: If the intervention is effective, the average number of violence against the person offences attributed to individuals in the intervention condition after one year will be lower than for individuals receiving business as usual (control condition). H2: If the intervention is effective, the average time to a violent against the person offence (in days) attributed to individuals in the intervention condition will be longer than for individuals receiving business as usual (control condition). H3: If the intervention is effective, the average number of crimes involving two or more perpetrators attributed to individuals in the intervention group will be lower than for individuals receiving business as usual (control condition). Previous study hypothesis: H1: If the intervention is effective, the average number of violence against the person offences attributed to individuals in the intervention condition after one year will be lower than for individuals receiving business as usual (control condition). H2: If the intervention is effective, the average time to a violent against the person offence (in days) attributed to individuals in the intervention condition will be lower than for individuals receiving business as usual (control condition). H3: If the intervention is effective, the average number of crimes involving two or more perpetrators attributed to individuals in the intervention group will be lower than for individuals receiving business as usual (control condition). |
| Ethics approval(s) | Approved 01/03/2023, University of Hull Faculty of Arts, Culture and Education Ethical Review Committee (Faculty of Arts Culture and Education Ethics Committee, FACE Faculty Office, Wilberforce Building, University of Hull, Hull, HU6 7RX, UK; +44 (0)1482 464026; face-ethics@hull.ac.uk), ref: 2223STAFF14 |
| Condition | Prevention of violent offending by 14-40-year-olds with a history of involvement in violence |
| Intervention | The intervention condition will be entered into a focused deterrence programme. The control condition will receive no intervention (business as usual). Participants will be randomised into treatment or control conditions stratified on child/adult status (child aged 18 years or under) and the number of suspected criminal offences in the preceding 2 years. The focused deterrence programme is a combined programme of enhanced police enforcement and a tailored programme of desistance support combined with community norm messaging. The interventions in each of the five sites were developed on a set of nine expert-generated principles that are the fundamental features of 'focused deterrence' (https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/YEF_AC_ApplicationGuidance3.pdf, p.10-12). The treatment unit is individuals who meet the eligibility criteria. The support component of the programme will typically last 3 months but will be responsive to individual needs, as will the nature of support. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Number of violent offences, measured by a count of violence against the person offences in police records attributed to the individual after 1 year |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Time to offence, measured by the number of days until a recorded offence of violence against a person in police records attributed to the individual within 1 year 2. Co-offending, measured by the number of recorded offences of violence against the person involving more than one perpetrator in police records attributed to the individual within 1 year |
| Overall study start date | 01/04/2022 |
| Overall study end date | 01/07/2025 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Mixed |
| Lower age limit | 14 Years |
| Upper age limit | 40 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 2,500 |
| Participant inclusion criteria | Leicester: 1. A member or associate of a group involved in committing serious violence or engaged in activities which drive the local serious violence problem, such as drug supply 2. They must also meet one of the following criteria: 2.1. In the past 2 years, they have been arrested for or suspected of committing serious violence 2.2. Arrested for or suspected of committing offences involving a weapon or possession of a weapon 2.3. Flagged as a habitual knife carrier 2.4. Arrested for or suspected of drug offences Manchester: 1. Aged between 14 and 25 years 2. Connected to a homicide or near-miss violent offence with a group violence component committed in the past 2 years or who committed a non-domestic abuse flagged violent offence in the past 2 years 3. Reside in Manchester or North Trafford Nottingham: 1. Aged between 14 and 24 years 2. Reside within the Nottingham City boundary or have group bonds to the area 3. They also must have been arrested for a violent or weapons offence in the previous 12 months, or for an offence that involved three or more perpetrators Coventry 'high-risk cohort: 1. Aged 14 years or over 2. Objective link to a recognised group within Coventry 3. Address within the ward boundaries of Coventry 4. Either have a violent offence committed (or listed as a suspect) within the last 18 months that is non-domestic abuse (but includes violence with injury, homicide, possession of weapons) or be linked to an Organised Crime Group (OCG) with a violent threat/sub-threat in police intelligence logs Coventry referral cohort: The main criteria for the population of interest is a gang/group link or being at risk of criminal exploitation. The eligible individual further must have an unmet need and must live in the city or within 1 hour from it (if moved). The remaining criteria slightly differ based on the referral agency but include, for example: 1. Evidence of involvement in violence/exploitation 2. Arrest for a trigger offence 3. An OCG link 4. Association with criminal peers or in a known gang spot 5. Known to social care 6. Are a looked-after child 7. Presented with injury with requisite suspicion 8. At risk of school exclusion 9. Under probation or on licence 10. Evidence of unstable home environment/criminality The trial population is those who have opted out of the intervention once having been referred, identified as eligible and offered the intervention. Wolverhampton 'high risk' cohort: 1. Aged 14 years or over 2. Have an objective link to a recognised group within Wolverhampton 3. Have an address within the ward boundaries of the city 4. Either have a violent offence committed (or listed as a suspect) within the last 18 months that is non-domestic abuse (but includes violence with injury, homicide, possession of weapons) or are linked to an Organised Crime Group with a violent threat/sub-threat in police intelligence logs Wolverhampton referral cohort: The main criteria for the population of interest is a gang/group link or being at risk of criminal exploitation. The eligible individual further must have an unmet need and must live in the city or within 1 hour from it (if moved). The remaining criteria slightly differ based on the referral agency but include, for example: 1. Evidence of involvement in violence/exploitation 2. Arrest for a trigger offence 3. An OCG link 4. Association with criminal peers or in a known gang spot 5. Known to social care 6. Are a looked-after child 7. Presented with injury with requisite suspicion 8. At risk of school exclusion 9. Under probation or on licence 10. Evidence of unstable home environment/criminality |
| Participant exclusion criteria | No explicit exclusion criteria have been specified. However, if an individual is already subject to focused police attention through involvement with an organised crime group, they may be excluded at the request of police partners. As the project is multicentred and operates in the context of a range of other ongoing violence interventions and related activity, exclusion criteria may emerge for reasons of participant or staff safety. These will be captured through an ongoing process evaluation. |
| Recruitment start date | 17/05/2023 |
| Recruitment end date | 30/06/2025 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centres
St Johns
Enderby
Leicester
LE19 2BX
United Kingdom
56 Oxford Street
Manchester
M1 6EU
United Kingdom
Station Street
Nottingham
NG2 3NG
United Kingdom
Lloyd House, Colmore Circus
Birmingham
B4 6NQ
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Charity
1st Floor
64 Great Eastern St
London
EC2A 3QR
England
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)7414 405031 |
|---|---|
| hello@youthendowmentfund.org.uk | |
| Website | https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/ |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/03/2027 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Stored in publicly available repository |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication on the Youth Endowment Fund website (March 2027) followed by publication in a peer-reviewed journal. |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and analysed during the current study will be stored in a publicly accessible repository. The repository will be identified at a later date in consultation with the funder. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protocol file | version 2 | 31/05/2023 | No | No | |
| Protocol article | 28/03/2024 | 02/04/2024 | Yes | No |
Additional files
Editorial Notes
02/04/2024: Publication reference added.
30/10/2023: The study hypothesis was amended.
31/05/2023: Study's existence confirmed by the University of Hull Faculty of Arts, Culture and Education Ethical Review Committee.
