King discovers how innovative Scottish project tackles scourge of violence

Charles was at Dumfries House in Cumnock, Ayrshire, the headquarters of the King’s Foundation charity.

The King will meet representatives from the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

The King has arrived at an event to meet with representatives of a Police Scotland initiative that targets all forms of violent behaviour.

He is due to meet with members of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU), their partners, as well as The King’s Foundation and the King’s Trust on Friday.

At Dumfries House, near Cumnock, Ayrshire, he will hear reflections on how to identify the root causes of violence and how support can be increased for young people.

He will hear about the SVRU’s experience of using a public health approach to identify, understand and address the underlying causes of violence.

The SVRU works to identify innovative, evidence-based solutions to violence.

The unit is made up of police officers, civilian police staff, and people who are experts by experience.

The SVRU works closely with colleagues and partners across health, education, social work, housing and many other fields using a public health approach to reducing violence.

This means using data to analyse violence, look to understand the causes, test and evaluate what works and for who, and seek to scale up effective programmes through appropriate partners.

The Dumfries House estate is the headquarters of the King’s Foundation charity, first founded in 1990 by the King, as Prince of Wales.

The charity offers education courses for more than 15,000 students annually, health and wellbeing programmes for more than 2,000 people every year, and spearheads placemaking and regeneration projects in the UK and overseas to revitalise communities and historic buildings.

The King’s Trust, formerly the Prince’s Trust, believes that every young person should have the chance to succeed, no matter what their background or the challenges they face.