Lambeth leader Cllr Lib Peck has been appointed as director of the London’s new Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), it was announced this week.

The VRU was established in September 2018 to bring together specialists to work together to reduce violence in the capital by taking a public health approach.

Cllr Peck has been leader of Lambeth Council since 2012 and has been London Councils Executive Member for Crime and Public Protection since 2014.

Her appointment follows Lambeth becoming the first authority in England to develop its own public health response to violence, following the model successfully developed in Glasgow.

Similarly the London-wide Violence Reduction Unit which Cllr Peck will lead, aims to divert people away from violence by making interventions at an early age and providing young Londoners with better, positive life opportunities.