Monthly Update January 2022

Partners across the county continue to reach out to young people, working with them and signposting them to other services where advice and support is available. This includes Fearless.org, where young people can anonymously receive and report information around knife crime. 

Innovative new tactics to tackle knife crime in Sussex

Sussex Police are using innovative new tactics to tackle knife crime across the county.

One of the new approaches being trialled is an educational card game called A Game of Knife or Life. The game looks to stimulate conversation around the implications and repercussions of carrying a blade, while also signposting young people to available support services.

The force has also been using social media as a way of continuing the conversation around knife crime and reaching young people via channels and advocates they trust. 

These tools enhance the work already being done by Sussex Police under Operation Safety - the force's overall response to knife crime and serious violence. 

Neighbourhood youth officers continue to deliver lessons and educational talks in schools alongside a short film that depicts real life stories of people affected by knife crime.

Survey feedback helps to set VRP priorities

Views gathered during a trio of surveys in December 2021 will inform the future work of the Sussex VRP.

The three surveys were aimed at young people, the general public, and professionals working in this area.

The understanding gained from responses to the online surveys – together with data and evidence from the annual Strategic Needs Assessment – will be invaluable in helping the Sussex VRP to understand:

• locally what is causing serious violence,
• the complex and interconnected risk and protective factors,
• current and emerging threats,
• public concerns about serious violence,
• and how to successfully tackle and prevent serious violent crime in Sussex.

Tanya Mackay, Sussex VRP Project Manager, says: “We’ll use the feedback from all three surveys to help us set our priorities and understand how we work more effectively with communities in future.”

16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence

Partners in the Sussex VRP supported the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an annual international campaign from 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) until 10 December (Human Rights Day).

• Brighton & Hove City Council, East Sussex County Council and West Sussex County Council shared themed messages over the 16 days across their social media platforms. The three councils also hosted a joint webinar.
• ‘Do the Right Thing’, a campaign initiated by Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne, encourages men to help end violence against women and girls by calling out sexual harassment and misogynistic behaviour. Free online bystander training, which will run to the end of March, enables participants to recognise these behaviours and understand their impacts.
• Sussex Police surveyed people across the county on the experience of women and girls as victims of harassment, sexual and violent crime. Issues covered include rape and serious sexual assault, stalking, voyeurism, unwanted sexual touching, upskirting, indecent exposure and street harassment. The survey results will help Sussex Police to better understand lived experiences and enhance work already under way.

Refer a young person to the SWITCH programme

The SWITCH programme provides independent mentoring for young people in Sussex who are victims of exploitation, at risk of falling into criminality or already perpetrators of violent crime.

Young adults aged between 17 and 25 are offered immediate support if they are taken into custody, preparing to leave care or are brought to the attention of local authorities due to a violent incident.

This award-winning programme is delivered by Albion in the Community (AITC), the official charity of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club.

To refer a young person to the programme, please contact AITC by email.

Trauma-informed training

In collaboration with charities Safe in Sussex and Brighton Oasis, thousands of frontline staff across a range of Sussex services are receiving training on the early impact of childhood trauma and how it affects young people and their families.

Training is being prioritised for the police, youth offending teams, education – primarily pastoral teams and those in pupil referral units – housing services, primary care health teams, and local authority frontline staff in early help, youth services and probation services.

The sessions teach techniques that can be used with young people and their families to improve interactions with those who may have experienced trauma or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), while also looking at the impact of race, class, gender and social stigma.

In turn, this will allow professionals dealing with vulnerable young people to ask more appropriate questions, identify risks and ultimately safeguard the children in their care more effectively.

Engage with us

To find out more about the work of the Sussex VRP, email Contact@Sussex-VRP. 

You can report serious violence online.