Community Oversight Group

COG APPLICATIONS 2025-2026 NOW OPEN

The Violence Reduction Network (VRN) is recruiting ten young people aged 18-25 to join the Community Oversight Group (COG).

Young people have a really important role to play when it comes to violence prevention and therefore it is vital that they are involved in decision making. The VRN is developing a young adults COG that empowers young people to shape VRN violence prevention strategies and activities.

We are looking for ten young people from across Leicester, Leicestershire or Rutland who are passionate about making positive change in their communities. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from those who have the knowledge and/or experience around violence and/or the factors that influence it (e.g. experience of the care system, school exclusion, experience of the criminal justice system, etc).

COG members will be required to attend monthly in-person sessions in different community venues and contribute their thoughts and ideas through creative and interactive activities.

As well as influencing change, COG members will also get the chance to work closely with other young people, claim remuneration costs of £50 per session (+ travel expenses) and be the first to hear about other exciting opportunities!

Recruitment Timeline:

Meetings will take place monthly between September 2025-December 2025 and then will take place bi-monthly between January-February 2026. There will be opportunity to review and extend membership post March 2026 for those interested.

People with previous convictions may still be eligible but are asked to disclose their convictions, in confidence, to the VRN’s Community and Young Person Involvement Manager at the time of application so suitability can be confirmed - lisa.wilkinson@leics.police.uk All members are asked to provide an up-to-date DBS certificate (expenses can be claimed back) following selection to confirm suitability and any disclosures made.

Before applying, please read our Terms of Reference here to check this opportunity is right for you.

If you have any questions, please email us at vrn@leics.pcc.pnn.gov.uk.

To apply:

Applications open on the 8th of July 2025 and will close at 23.59 on the 10th August 2025.

To apply, complete this short form below.

Application Form

A core principle of the Violence Reduction Network is to work with and for communities, including young people as we know collaboration and drawing on community insights and expertise will enhance our understanding of violence and its causes whilst improving the effectiveness of local responses.

To support this, we have developed a Community Oversight Group (COG) consisting of eight members from our local communities who have an established interest and experience within the violence prevention arena, particularly in relation to keeping young people safe. The membership of the COG changes every 12-18 months. We are currently running our second Community Oversight Group.

The COG directly influences, shape, and scrutinise the VRN’s interventions and projects through regular interactive meetings. It plays a vital role in overseeing the delivery of the VRN’s wider community involvement work with a view to ensuring it continuously develops in line with our community involvement framework. Members of the COG claim renumeration to attend regular meetings led by a member of the Senior Leadership Team within the VRN and the Community and Young Person Involvement Manager.

The first Community Oversight Group ran from April 2023-March 2024 and completed the following:

Supported the on-going development of the Phoenix Programme in relation to design and delivery, with a focus on the engagement between police and participants.
Scrutinised the performance of the Phoenix Programme including examining its reach and any issues or risks.
Co-produced the definition of ‘communities’, the ‘guiding principles and the ‘approach’ within the Community Partnership Framework.
Co-produced activities within the Community Partnership Delivery Plan 2024.

Community Oversight Group Members 2023-24

Shared insights on ways to improve data sharing amongst communities which has been incorporated within the Preventing Serious Violence Strategy.
Provided feedback on the Trauma Informed Self-Assessment Framework, leading to the decision being reached for a community version.
Co-produced a Guide for Person Centred Communities.
Shared insights around the Sports and Violence Reduction dashboard hosted by StreetGames.
Shared insights around developing the reach of the Community Safety Survey across communities most affected by violence.