The police-led Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) was created to help the Scottish Government deal with the problem of violence that blights our streets on a daily basis. They are taking forward a two stranded approach based on enforcement and prevention. This involves coordinated and sustained action by police forces to tackle the existing problems head on and longer term work to educate young people to prevent violence before it occurs.
Knife Crime
Medics Against Violence is a new initiative that has been developed by the Violence Reduction Unit and three senior medics in Glasgow, in which the Scottish Government has invested £80,000. It will see medics working directly with young people to highlight the dangers of knives. So far sixty-five senior medics from the Glasgow area have committed to give up their time to do what they can to help reduce levels of violence in Scotland. 
The Scottish Government is also working to prevent young people from becoming involved in violent behaviour through a youth engagement initiative to tackle knife-carrying, called 'No Knives Better Lives'.
Gang Violence
The Scottish Government has recently invested £1.6 million in the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV) to tackle the gang culture that fuels knife crime. The Violence Reduction Unit are leading on the development of this £5 million project, which seeks to intensively engage with over 700 identified gang members and provide them with a range of support services and diversion projects in an effort to change their behaviour and prospects.
Gun Crime
Everyone knows the damage that can be caused by firearms and airguns that are used irresponsibly and dangerously. The Scottish Government is clear that it is not acceptable for communities to continue to suffer as a result of the selfish and stupid actions of those who treat guns as toys.
Tackling the underlying causes of violence
The Scottish Government is working with local partners on a range of violence reduction measures and is committed to dealing with the underlying causes of crime - drink, drugs and deprivation.