Mapping the local youth violence prevention ecosystem: a foundational study for diversion and navigator mentorship pathways

Violence is a major public health issue with intergenerational impacts, disproportionately affecting children and young people and contributing to educational disengagement and later harm. Within serious violence prevention policy in England, emerging evidence highlights the promise of mentorship-based Navigator models in engaging vulnerable youth. Focused Diversion extends this approach upstream, targeting earlier vulnerability; however, sustained outcomes depend on effective transition into community provision, positioning referral connectivity as a critical protective mechanism within local violence reduction systems. To address this gap, the study develops and applies a novel prevention systems-mapping framework that extends beyond conventional service mapping by analysing referral connectivity, transition pathways, and evidence alignment across community provision within local violence reduction systems. The aim being to map available provision rather than evaluate service use or link provision to youth outcomes.