Empire fighting chance

Establishing an Office of Violence Prevention

This work began when former Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees approached UWE Bristol’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Steve West, to explore what an Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) for the city could look like. Instead of a simple consultation, UWE Bristol responded with something bigger: a cross-university working group of criminologists, sociologists, educationalists and youth justice experts to understand the problem at its roots and contribute real evidence to real change.

At the heart of this work stands Empire Fighting Chance, an organisation born from a moment outside a Bristol boxing gym when founders Martin Bisp and Jamie Sanigar intervened in a street level drug deal and invited the young people into the gym, providing the young people an alternative direction. That single act sparked a movement now reaching young people across the city, using non-contact boxing, therapy and psychology to help them navigate trauma, violence and exclusion. Their model has grown nationally, and more recently internationally by putting communities at the centre of violence prevention.

Understanding OVP models

Led by the School of Social Sciences, UWE Bristol’s researchers undertook a deep investigation into OVP models across the United States, South America and Canada. Their goal was clear: complete a scoping review of best practice and the challenges found across other nations and taking what works, who is being impacted and what Bristol needs to know to design an approach grounded in evidence, not assumption.

Whilst all OVPs set out to either prevent or reduce violence amongst vulnerable populations, the way in which they organise themselves and the types of services they deliver vary considerably. This presents a challenge in that there is no universally accepted OVP model. This research set out to explore the evidence base for the effectiveness of OVP models, and the contextual factors informing their effectiveness.

The complexity of the violence prevention landscape underscores why UWE Bristol’s work matters. The tea, Michael Whelan, Education and Childhood, Craig Johnston, Criminology SSOS, Myra Evans, Dir of Partnerships SSOS, Nick Addis, Criminology SSOS, Kate Ferguson, Marketing, BBS and Sarah Williams, Policing, SSOS; is generating the knowledge cities need to design systems that prevent violence before it happens, not just respond after harm is done. 

Collaboration driving innovation

What distinguishes this research is the breadth of expertise behind it. Criminologists worked alongside policing specialists; youth justice academics collaborated with psychologists and educationalists; community engagement researchers partnered with social marketers from the Business School.

This cross-college approach reflects the reality of violence itself: multifaceted, interconnected, impossible to tackle from a single discipline. UWE Bristol’s team has built a research environment where evidence, practice and community insight strengthen one another.

Their findings have already informed the development of a major report outlining how international OVP lessons can be applied to the Bristol context. The report distils global evidence into clear, practical considerations for policy, community organisations and practitioners.

Research partnerships

Empire Fighting Chance is one of the community partners working alongside UWE Bristol to ground research in real lives and real challenges.

UWE’s researchers have been analysing how models like Empire’s work, what outcomes they produce and how these insights can inform wider system change. The partnership has also created new research threads, including a PhD exploring protective factors against serious youth violence and new work supporting Empire’s impact measurement systems. A UWE ‘Academic in Residence’ project further enhances the team’s ability to strengthen its work with Empire, and to translate insights from the OVP research into meaningful action.

This is research embedded in community that is shaping practice, improving services and ensuring interventions are guided by evidence rather than guesswork.

Taking Bristol's learning to the global stage

The academic work conducted at UWE Bristol has also opened international pathways. During global collaboration events, researchers connected with REACH Edmonton in Canada, and Peace in Our Cities in the USA; community coordinating organisations dedicated to violence prevention. The alignment was immediate: these organisations offer the infrastructure to convene, evaluate and coordinate services; UWE Bristol provides the evidence base; Empire Fighting Chance demonstrates what innovative practice can look like. 

This knowledge exchange now forms part of an international learning network, enhancing UWE Bristol’s research and positioning it within global conversations about violence reduction.

It is this international dimension, rooted in evidence and applied through community collaboration that places UWE Bristol at the forefront of violence prevention research.

The journey ahead

The final OVP research report is now available, offering a major contribution to Bristol’s long-term strategy for violence prevention. Research teams are developing new methodologies for community embedded evaluation, exploring dissemination across different countries, and expanding cross college collaborations. Partnerships with local organisations like Empire Fighting Chance and international bodies like REACH Edmonton and Peace in Our Cities will deepen.

From research papers to policy rooms, from community gyms to international collaborations, UWE Bristol is shaping the next era of violence prevention, rooted in evidence, collaboration and the belief that cities can change if we change the systems around them.