Community Safety and Crime Reduction Strategy

2023 – 2026

 

DRAFT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contents
		page
The Partnership and its work		3
Brighton & Hove and the people in the city		5
Crime and disorder overview		9
Current landscape		13
Identifying and progressing priorities		15
Relevant work of key partners		17
Our priorities:
Serious violence, drugs and exploitation		21
Domestic & sexual violence and abuse and other VAWG		24
Anti-social behaviour		28
Hate incidents and crimes		31
Prevent		34
Appendix: About the Partnership		39

 

If you would like to provide any feedback on this document, you can do so by email to:  community.safety@brighton-hove.gov.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Partnership and its work

 

 

 

 

 

The Partnership’s aims

The Community Safety Partnership’s overarching duty is to:

·        reduce crime and disorder,

·        improve community safety, and

·        reduce re-offending

in Brighton & Hove.

This will serve to improve the quality of life for everyone who lives in, works in or visits the city. 

The focus is on:

·        taking early action to prevent crime and disorder

·        tackling the issues which have the biggest impact on people

·        reducing fear of crime and meeting the needs of victims.

About this strategy

This strategy lays out the Brighton & Hove Community Safety Partnership’s plans for the three year period from 2023-2026.  It is a requirement of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. 

Partnership working locally

The city is much better placed to tackle crime and disorder if everyone – local residents and businesses, community and voluntary groups, and city services – work together in a coordinated way.  The local authority, police, health, probation and fire services are statutory partners under the 1998 Act.  However, in practice, the Community Safety Partnership works across a much wider range of partners at different levels and on different topics to work out what needs doing, and who can help. 

As well as the impact on individuals and communities, the negative effects of crime and disorder increase demand on public services. Working in partnership and adopting a ‘whole system approach’ is essential.  Our work contributes to, and overlaps with, the Police & Crime Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan[1], to the council’s Corporate Plan[2], and to measures in the Public Health Outcomes Framework to name a few examples.

National context

Politicians and legislators impact broadly on the legal and social setting in which we all live.  In 2021 the ‘Beating Crime Plan’ laid out the government’s plan to cut crime, focusing on serious violence, neighbourhood crime and tackling hidden harms.  Other national strategic work has been around domestic abuse and other violence against women and girls, strengthening the criminal justice system, supporting victims, hate crime and cyber crime.[3]

In March 2016 the Home Office issued their ‘Modern Crime Prevention Strategy’[4].  This listed six ‘drivers of crime’: opportunity; character; profit; drugs; alcohol; and the criminal justice system, and described its approach to preventing crime as targeting these areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brighton & Hove and the people in the city

 

 

 

 

 

Our residents and visitors

People with many different characteristics contribute to the makeup of the local population, and crime and disorder issues impact on people differently. 

The 2021 census found that the city had 277,100 residents, an increase 3,800 people since the 2011 census.[5]  Population projections show and increasing trend.

Compared with England and the South East, Brighton & Hove has fewer children and older people, and more younger adults, particularly in their 20s and early 30s.  Contributing to people in this age group are those who come to the city to study.  At the time of the 2011 census, of people in employment, Brighton & Hove had a higher percentage of students (15%) proportionately higher than the South East (8%) and England (9%).  In 2020/21 there were 37,200 students enrolled at the two local universities. 

The city is a popular tourist destination and in 2019 around 10.7 million trips were estimated to have been made to the city by day visitors, up 12% on 2018, with over 5.4 million overnight stays.  This reduced significantly in 2000 due to the Covid pandemic, when there were 8.3 million day trips and 2.0 million overnight stays.^[6]

At the time of the 2011 census, there were 147 residents employed by the armed services, and in 2020 532 veterans in the city were receiving pension or compensation related to military service, proportionately fewer than the South East and England.

According to the 2021 census, 26.1% of the resident population (72,370 people) belonged to an ethnic group other than White British.  31,700 people (11.5%) were White Other, 13,200 were Asian (4.8%), 13,200 were of Mixed ethnicity (4.8%) and 8,600 (3.1%) were of another ethnicity.  The city’s ethnic minority population (including White Other) has increased by 18,900 people (35.5%) since the 2011 census.

The lesbian, gay, and bisexual population makes up between an estimated 11-15% of our population, equating to between 25,800 and 35,200 adult residents based on 2021 census [7]  It is estimated that there are between 1,500 and 2,500 trans adults living in Brighton & Hove, with many more coming to the city as visitors.

In 2020, among residents aged 18 to 64, there were an estimated 38,400 people with a common mental health disorder and 9,100 people with impaired mobility.  There were an estimated 5,900 people aged over 18 with a learning difficulty. 

In 2020/21 10% of city residents surveyed reported low levels of happiness, similar to the South East and England.  31% of city residents reported high levels of anxiety, up from 27% in 2019/20. This significantly worse than the South East and England, both at 24%.[8]

The day-to-day activities of 16% of city residents are ‘limited a little’ or ‘limited a lot’ by health problems (Census 2011).  The City Tracker survey found these residents are on average less likely to feel safe in the city.

Regarding children, there were 2,378 Children in Need and 281 children who were the subject of a child protection plan in the city as of March 2022, both proportionally higher than the South East and England.  National evidence shows that people who have been looked after as children are more likely to be unemployed, be involved in crime and be identified as having a substance misuse problem.

Social and economic factors

The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019 ranked Brighton & Hove 131^st out of 326 of all local authorities in England, slightly more deprived than the England average.  However, the level of deprivation varies widely across the city, with some of the more deprived being in the east.

There were an estimated 7,900 unemployed people in the city in the twelve months up to March 2022.[9]  This represents 4.6% of all those who were economically active[10] compared to 4.1% in Great Britain and in 3.5% in the South East.

One in five (21%) respondents to the City Tracker survey 2018 reported that they did not feel they would have enough money, after meeting housing costs, in the next year to meet basic living costs such as food, water and heating.

Recent data from the Low Income Family Tracker (LIFT)[11] shows that as of September 2022, there were 22,307 low income households in the city, with 8,446 children living in them.  Of these, 7,000 households, with 4,550 children were living below the poverty line. In addition, 2,336 households in the city were estimated to have a cash shortfall. The number of households with a cash shortfall was predicted to increase by 58% by 2023.

Between 3.0% and 3.8% of 16-17 year olds (up to 192 young people) were not in education, training or employment in the three months ending February 2022.

Housing and homelessness

Brighton & Hove had 126,827 homes at the time of the 2011 census, with an average household size of 2.2 occupants.

The city has fewer owner occupiers and more people renting from private landlords than the average for the South East and England as a whole.

The street outreach service found 655 people sleeping rough in 2021/22, up from 540 in 2020/21.  Since then, the number of individuals has risen further – in the 8 month period from April to November 2022, 698 individuals were found sleeping rough.  The cost of housing for people on low incomes remains a problem.

…and what we don’t know

We need to remain aware that not all of the people in the city will feature in the various statistics at our disposal, or come to the attention of services.  This ‘invisible’ or unidentified population may be among the most vulnerable to crime and community safety problems and extra focus is needed in order get help to them if they need it.

Meeting our equalities duty

The Equality Act 2010 requires that public sector bodies consider and take account of how different types of people – those with ‘protected characteristics’ – are impacted by their work.  Our Strategic Assessment in 2022 reported on how different people are affected by crime and safety issues.  The process of determining our priorities and actions takes these findings into account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crime and disorder overview

 

 

 

 

 

Nature and scale of crimes

There were 27,531 crimes recorded by the police in Brighton & Hove in 2021/22.  This is higher than 24,604 in 2020/21 when Covid had its greatest impact on people’s lives, but lower than the 29,393 in 2019/20 (mainly before Covid).  The crime rate per 1,000 population in 2021/22 was 93.7, similar to the average of our group of 15 benchmarked partnerships (94.2).  

Figure 1 shows the different crime groups making up the total.  Broadly speaking, 36% were classified as violence against the person crimes, 29% acquisitive crimes, 12% public order offences and 10% criminal damage, 5% sexual offences and 4% drugs offences.

Figure 1. Total police recorded crime breakdown, 2021/22 (n=27,531)

 

The line graph in Figure 2 shows the trend in total police recorded crime over the last ten years. 

Figure 2. Total police recorded crime, 2012/13 – 2021/22

 

From 2014/15 numbers of police recorded total crimes showed a decline between 2011/12 increased year by year up to 2019/20.  However, between 2019/20 and 2020/21 there was a 20% drop, strongly linked to the Covid pandemic and an 11.5% increase in 2021/22.  It is important to note that, as well as underlying changes in crimes taking place, crime trends can be influenced by recording practices, changes in definitions, and propensity to report. [12]

In contrast to recorded crime, up to 2019/20, ASB incidents were showing a long term decline.  However, there was a sharp increase in 2020/21 with 13,436 incidents recorded.  Numbers were particularly high during that year, (up from 7,271 in 2019/20), with the increase being associated with people contravening Covid restrictions.  ASB incidents dropped back down in 2021/22 with 8,329 recorded.[13]

More information on recorded crimes and incidents is provided in the Strategic Assessment.

Crime patterns

The retail and leisure area in the city centre is also the geographical centre for much of the city’s crime and disorder. 

Seasonal patterns often coincide with the peak visitor season when there are more people in the city to both perpetrate and be victims of crime, and when people tend to spend more time outdoors. Certain crimes are more likely to take place at particular times of day, for example violence occurs more frequently on Friday and Saturday nights, linking with the night-time economy.

Offending and reoffending

There were 1,948 offenders (1,889 adults and 59 young people) in 2019/20 in Brighton & Hove.  30% of the adults and 51% of the young people perpetrating crime in this period went on to reoffend in the following 12 months.  These are higher rates than for England & Wales as a whole (25% and 34% respectively).

Alcohol and drug use

Violent crime is frequently associated with alcohol misuse, and habitual drug use can be a driver for acquisitive crimes.4

Measures of alcohol sales and consumption are higher than England, the South East, and also higher than the average of our matched authorities.[14]

Estimates based on modelling from 2016/17 show that, compared with the South East and with England, the proportion of the city’s resident population using opiates or crack cocaine is higher.[15]

Hidden crime and criminal groups

It is necessary to remain aware that crimes may be hidden from sight.  Criminal behaviour continues to evolve while pressures on victims to remain silent can persist.  Organised crime groups can widen the geography of both perpetrators and victims in areas such as child sexual abuse, drug dealing and human trafficking.  Partnerships play an important role in addressing these issues.

Impact on quality of life

National research found that in 2019/20 8% of survey respondents reported feeling a high level of worry about violent crime, 10% about burglary, 19% about fraud, and 7% of car owners had a high level of worry about car crime.  Women tended to worry more than men, as did people from Asian/Asian British or Black/Black British ethnic groups, those in more routine occupations or unemployed, and those living in more deprived areas.[16]

Locally, nearly all residents (96%) surveyed in the 2018 City Tracker survey reported feeling safe in their local area during the day, but after dark this dropped to 80% in their local area and 64% in the city centre.  Females, those with not enough money to meet basic needs, and those with a long term illness or disability reported feeling comparatively less safe than average, especially after dark.

Financial impact

The financial impact of crime is significant.  Estimated costs of crime have been provided by the Home Office and cover, for example, physical/emotional harm, lost output, value of property stolen/damaged, and the cost of health, police and other public services in response to crime.[17] 

The average cost of each crime that takes place is estimated at:

·         £14,100 for a violent crime with injury/£5,900 without injury

·         £5,900 for a domestic burglary

·         £10,300 for a theft of a vehicle/£870 for a theft from a vehicle

·         £8,400 for arson/£1,400 for other criminal damage

·         £39,400 for rape and £6,500 for other sexual offences

Costs are generally higher if they relate to crimes against businesses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current landscape

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There have been a number of national and international developments affecting the landscape in which our work to reduce crime and disorder is set. 

Covid-19

Nationally, the Crime in England & Wales report showed that patterns of crime were substantially affected by COVID-19 and associated restrictions.  During periods of national lockdown there were decreases in many types of police recorded crime, but fraud and computer misuse offences increased substantially during that time.

Since restrictions were lifted following the third national lockdown in early 2021, police recorded crime data found that certain offence types were returning to or exceeding the levels seen before the pandemic, for example violence and sexual offences, while theft and robbery remained at a lower level.  Provisional estimates from the Crime Survey for England & Wales are that domestic and sexual assaults in the 6 months ending March 2022 were similar to pre-Covid levels.  In contrast, police recorded sexual offences showed an increase, although this might other factors besides the actual numbers taking place.[18]

The government initially provided a financial cushion for those whose work was affected by Covid during 2020 but there has been a longer term impact on the economy.  Covid also led to a disruption to education for young people, and the effects of this were experienced more severely by people who were less well off, serving to widen inequalities.

Cost of living

Financial pressures and hardship have become more acute in 2022, made more difficult by steeply rising living costs arising from the war in Ukraine and other factors.  This is compounding the negative impact on mental health experienced during Covid.[19]^,[20]

The cost of housing in Brighton & Hove remains an additional pressure, making access to suitable housing for those on lower incomes very difficult.  Inadequate housing may contribute to pressures on those at risk of offending. 

The financial pressures on statutory services are increasing.  Creative ideas which lead to new ways of working effectively, but which cost less or are cost neutral, continue to be needed.  The Covid pandemic accelerated the development of internet-based services, and this may be further used to help with efficiencies.

Community cohesion

The European Union membership referendum in 2016, which resulted in the UK voting to leave the EU, provided an opportunity for the voicing of different views around immigration.  Black Lives Matter demonstrations during 2020 also brought out vocal opposing narratives. 

The threat of terrorism remains present nationally.  Since 2019 the threat level has fluctuated between ‘substantial’ meaning that an attack is likely and ‘severe’ meaning an attack is highly likely.  It was raised to ‘severe’ in November 2021 but was reduced once again to ‘substantial’ in February 2022 and remains at this level a time of writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Identifying and progressing priorities

 

 

 

 

 

Local analysis

Our plans for the three year period from April 2023 to March 2026 are informed by the Brighton & Hove Strategic Assessment of Crime and Community Safety 2022.  This looks at the crime and community safety picture in the city.  It considered the nature and scale of problems, trends, the impact on communities and individuals, and so on. This has informed the setting of our priorities, and the plans for how to progress these.

The work for the 2022 Strategic Assessment has been carried out jointly by officers with lead responsibility for each priority area and analysts in the council’s Public Health Intelligence Team.

The focus of our partnership strategy

The priorities in this strategy focus on areas where working in partnership is fundamental to achieving progress.  It prioritises work where added value is achieved by working in partnership.

There are five priority areas in this strategy: serious violence, drugs and exploitation, domestic and sexual violence/abuse and other violence against women and girls, anti-social behaviour, hate incidents and crimes and Prevent.  These are chosen to reflect both national and local priorities, and have a particular focus on areas where the impact on victims is high.

Considerations around resources

Budgets of public organisations have been reducing and budgets remain tight. Difficult decisions need to be made about whether to allocate scarce resources to prevention work or to responding to the impact of crimes and supporting victims after they have occurred.  Without investment in prevention work, there is the risk that significant problems will be stored up for the future.

Partnership resources are currently supporting an experienced and skilled workforce.  Withdrawing financial support for the work they carry out risks resulting in a break in continuity of services which will take considerable effort to re-establish.

Monitoring the effectiveness of our work

The impact that we are aiming to achieve through our partnership work is laid out at the beginning of each priority area in this strategy. 

Action plans are drawn up for each of our priority areas, laying out timescales and assigning responsibility for taking the work forward.  Progress is monitored through thematic steering groups or forums, and the Community Safety Partnership Board also keeps progress under review at a more strategic level.

Individual measures of crime and community safety are rarely able to describe the complete picture of underlying problems and do not allow us to fully understand the effectiveness of our work.  Our approach to this is to monitor groups of performance indicators for each priority area which together contribute to the overall picture.  The data need to be carefully interpreted to avoid drawing misplaced conclusions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relevant work of key partners

 

 

 

 

 

The work of key partners

There are a number of statutory agencies whose core business is to tackle crime – the police, youth offending service, courts, probation and prison services are some significant ones.  The work of other agencies, for example schools, health and social services, is also key to reducing the ‘drivers’ of crime. 

These partners have their own plans/strategies and may work across wider geographical areas.  In some areas of our partnership’s work projects operate in conjunction with Community Safety Partnerships in East and West Sussex.

Mentioned below are some important areas of work which are managed by our partners and not described in detail in this strategy document.

Relevant work and strategies

Adolescent services.  Brighton & Hove’s work with young people who are engaged in criminal behaviour is part of the council’s Adolescent Service. The Service also provides support and safeguarding tailored to adolescents and those transitioning to adulthood, including multi-agency work to address risk connected with exploitation.

The Youth Justice Plan is integrated within the Complex Adolescent Strategy 2020-23.  It has the following priorities:

·    Divert children away from the Criminal Justice System

·    Gain a better understanding of why children reoffend in order to respond appropriately

·    Maintain a low number of custodial sentences and to avoid wherever possible

·    Embed contextual safeguarding approaches and ensure a robust multi-agency response to child exploitation

·    Increase service user participation

·    Ensure a shared understanding of children and young people’s substance use and respond appropriately to reduce harm caused.

This work is overseen by the Adolescent Strategic Management Board which reports to the Community Safety Partnership Board.

Adult and child safeguarding.  The city’s multi-agency Safeguarding Adults Board works across agencies to raise awareness and promote the welfare of vulnerable adults, and enable people to live safe and secure lives.

The Brighton & Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership co-ordinates work by all agencies and individuals to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. 

Other targeted strategies.  The a Fairer Brighton & Hove – disadvantage strategy framework 2022-25 lays out how the city can identify, respond to and support the needs of families at risk of disadvantage, especially those who have been affected by the cost of living increase.

The Adult Learning Disability Strategy 2021-26 highlights personal safety, online safety and hate crime as areas for attention in the Relationships, Friendships and Feeling Safe workstream.

Combating Drugs Partnership.  The ten year national Drugs Strategy has the aim of ‘cutting crime and saving lives’ through breaking the supply chain, treatment and recovery and reducing the demand for drugs.  The purpose of the Combating Drugs Partnership is to bring together local partners including in enforcement, treatment, recovery and prevention to provide oversight and direction to the development and delivery of a combating drugs strategy and delivery plan for Brighton & Hove.

Integrated Offender Management (IOM).  There is a regional strategic plan on IOM, and national operational guidance for the management of adult offenders to reduce reoffending adhered to locally.  This sets out how police, probation, courts, prisons, health, local authorities and others can support the needs of offenders. 

‘Cyber crime’.  There is a joint police Surrey and Sussex Cyber Crime Unit which focuses on crimes which are enabled or perpetrated using communication technologies and the internet.

Mental health services. Many offenders have needs around mental health, often compounded by alcohol and/or drugs misuse. The Liaison and Diversion Scheme is a scheme whereby people who are arrested or held in custody are assessed for needs around mental health, alcohol or substance misuse, and can be referred to treatment services.

Homelessness and rough sleeping.  The Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2020-2025 has priorities under the headings of prevention, interventions and sustainability.

Private sector housing.  The licensing of private landlords includes clauses to manage anti-social behaviour.

Serious and Organised Crime.  Sussex Police take the lead on tackling serious and organised crime which impacts across communities and is associated with, for example, drugs, fraud, acquisitive crime, child sexual exploitation and abuse, modern slavery and human trafficking. The cost to society of serious and organised crime is estimated at many billions of pounds a year.[21]

East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service.  Core business of ESFRS is to reduce the risk of and harm from fires in people’s homes and in communities.  They work closely with partners, including housing providers, and local communities to provide awareness and education on fire safety in the home and fit smoke alarms where appropriate.

ESFRS works in the context of a mixed and ageing housing stock, an ageing population and vulnerabilities of some residents, overlapping with key populations of interest in the wider community safety context and have a commitment working in partnership around safeguarding. ESFRS have an offer of home safety visits by Safe and Well advisors, which is included in the resilience planning processes for cuckoo victims. As well as potential for target hardening to reduce future risk to the property and therefore the victim, the Safe and Well advisors are trained in identifying a wide range of health and wellbeing needs and can give general advice or refer to a range of partners to help people get the support they need.

Regulatory services. Regulatory services and other teams within the local authority, for example, environmental health, may help to address issues such as noise-related anti-social behaviour. 

The police and council licensing teams and other responsible authorities under the Licensing Act have a responsibility to ensure the licensed premises operate in such a way that they do not cause public nuisance or compromise public safety.

Road safety.  The council’s long term Local Transport Plan includes goals to create streets and neighbourhoods that are safe and welcoming for people to move around and use socially.  Brighton & Hove City Council is a member of the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership.

Planning and environmental services.  The council’s planning department oversees the development of the city’s infrastructure.  The City Plan includes crime and safety as one of the considerations in development plans.

As part of its work to maintain a clean city environment, services provided by City Clean include tackling graffiti, removing hazardous waste such as drug litter, and enforcement action around discarded waste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Priority themes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serious violence, drugs and exploitation

 

 

 

What we want to achieve

·         A stronger preventative approach to serious violence and exploitation and a decrease in drug-gang related activity through the better use of all available data

·         A thriving night-time economy free from drug and alcohol-related violence

·         All parts of the community to be free of the fear of violence, drugs and exploitation, to be able to recognise of all forms of exploitation, drug harm and serious violent crime and to have confidence to report it

·         Fewer people harmed by serious violence and preventing vulnerable people from becoming involved with organised crime networks

·         Safeguard vulnerable children and adults who are being exploited, and provide a safe pathway out of exploitation or involvement with organised crime networks.

 

Why this is a priority

Serious violence, or the threat of violence, can have a significant negative impact on individuals, communities and the city as a whole.  It can undermine how safe people feel and their wellbeing. The fear of violence and drug related crime deters residents and visitors from engaging with the city’s leisure and commercial services, limiting people’s lives and posing further economic costs to the city. Violent crimes with injury are amongst the offences that incur the highest costs on the city, in terms of their impact on both individuals and services, such as police and healthcare.

Crimes involving exploitation often involve the criminal exploitation of children, young people and vulnerable adults on a physical, sexual or financial basis. This is of significant concern both nationally and locally. In recognition of the links between drug supply, criminal exploitation, modern slavery and human trafficking, these crime types have been absorbed into a wider exploitation agenda.

Key facts

There were 2,886 police-recorded violent crimes with injury in 2021/22 in the city.  These offences had reached a peak of 3,044 in 2019/20 (pre-Covid) but dropped back to 2,331 in 2020/21 when Covid restrictions were imposed on everyday life, including the closure or other restrictions on licensed premises.  The latest year’s figures remain below those pre-Covid.  A similar trend was seen with assault-related attendances at A&E (1,365 in 2021/22) with police recorded robberies (333 robberies in 2021/22) and possession of weapons offences (338 in 2021/22).  Injury violence has strong links with the night-time economy.

Where the mechanism of injury was known, 14% of A&E assault attendances in 2021/22 related to a stabbing with a knife or other sharp implement.  The number of stabbings was lower than in 2019/20. 

There are many factors which make someone vulnerable to exploitation, with more than one factor present increasing the risk. These may include poor mental health, substance misuse, poverty or debt, school exclusion, experience of coercion or abuse, isolation and homelessness.

Gangs may establish a local base, typically by taking over the homes of local vulnerable adults (such as drugs users, older people, people with mental health issues or a learning disability) by force or coercion in a practice referred to as cuckooing.  They then use the premises to deal drugs from and recruit local children, young people and vulnerable adults as drugs runners.  As of September 2022, there were 16 cuckooed properties identified in the city. There are also known repeat perpetrators and repeat victims of cuckooing.  Cuckooing represents a continued risk to residents, especially those with multiple complex needs.  These can increase their vulnerability because of isolation, reduced resilience to coercive behaviours, and so on.  There were ten modern slavery offences recorded by the police in 2021/22, a drop from a peak of 46 in 2019/20. 

Who’s affected

In 2021/22 40% of injury violence crimes happened in a public or open space, 35% in a dwelling and 16% in a hospitality venue.  27% was flagged as domestic violence.  Excluding domestic violence offences, two-thirds of victims were male and one third female, and the peak age group was 10-19 year olds.  Young males were also most frequently the victim of personal robberies, with these tending to be less associated with the night-time economy than previously.

70% of A&E assault related attendees were males, and the peak age group (both sexes) was 20-24 years.  Two-thirds of assault attendees at A&E had a Brighton & Hove postcode, 16% had other BN postcodes across Sussex, and 17% had postcodes elsewhere.  Looking just at stabbing injuries, a higher proportion of patients came from outside the city, and a higher proportion were male.

There were 227 drug trafficking offences recorded in 2021/22.  92% of drug trafficking offenders between April 2020 and September 2021 were male, and these tended to be under 30 years old.  Drug trafficking offences were concentrated in the city centre and stretching north to the Level.  There is rising trend in drug-related deaths indicating a flourishing drug supply in the city.

When a potential victim of trafficking is identified, a referral is made to the National Referral Mechanism.  In 2021/22 across Sussex there were 73 referrals.  75% related to males,46% were under 18s, and a majority were in respect of criminal exploitation.  74% were UK nationals.  Brighton & Hove City Council has made a total of twelve referrals to the National Referral Mechanism in 2021/22 (eight children and three adults), up from seven in 2019/20.

Our plans

This is the first iteration of the three-year community safety strategy to include serious violence, drugs and exploitation combined as a single section, having been merged during the course of the previous strategy review due to significant crossovers between these agendas.

Work will continue within the Brighton & Hove Violence Reduction Partnership executive and subgroups to ensure that local interventions are targeted to address exploitation, serious violence and drug harm.

We will work within the Brighton & Hove and Sussex Violence Reduction Partnerships to develop our response to the Serious Violence Duty, ensure compliance and embed the duty within existing governance structures.

Learning will be taken from the citywide drug summit events to improve partnership communications to the wider community, to improve trust in relevant services and public confidence in reporting drug related activity.

Operation Cuckoo will continue to develop responses to vulnerable adults who have experienced exploitation and coercion to criminal activity, such a drug supply (including County Lines).

Through the use of ASB tools and powers, Brighton & Hove City Council will seek to disrupt perpetrators of exploitation, serious violence and drug-related activity, safeguard vulnerable people, and prevent victimisation of individuals and communities.

Brighton & Hove City Council will continue to develop, promote and embed a contextual approach to safeguarding across internal and external partners (including the local Safeguarding Adults Board and Safeguarding Children Partnership), to prevent both children and adults becoming vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and violence, and provide support and effective routes out to those who may already be involved. To this end, in the absence of specialist services, we will continue to work with services across the city to enhance the support on offer to victims of exploitation, modern slavery and human trafficking.

We will work within local partnerships to further our understanding of the additional vulnerability to exploitation of those with Multiple Complex Needs and develop approaches that are better able meet these needs.

Data gathering across the Violence Reduction Partnership will be developed further, with analysis aimed at improving understanding of needs and potential hotspots of vulnerability, and to better identify and form responses to inequalities across the city.

Brighton & Hove City Council will address the fear of violent crime in the city by further developing communications to the community, highlighting the challenges, promoting successes and encouraging further community involvement in developing and delivering responses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Domestic abuse, sexual violence and violence against women and girls

 

 

 

What we want to achieve

·         Develop an integrated, coordinated response to domestic abuse, sexual violence and violence against women and girls (VAWG)

·         Prevent of domestic abuse, sexual violence and VAWG by working in partnership

·         Provide of support for survivors/victims

·         Hold perpetrators to account.

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Why this is a priority

The government has acknowledged that the level of crimes termed ‘violence against women & girls’ (VAWG) has reached epidemic proportions nationally and there is a need for a step change in the approach required to tackle VAWG. This can only happen if everyone in our communities plays a part. The Community Safety Partnership commits to zero tolerance to all forms of VAWG.

There are long-standing and newly developing societal norms that perpetuate acceptance of abusive and controlling behaviour, and an often-unconscious acceptance of these behaviours that affect everyone, but disproportionately affect women and girls. Despite under-reporting, the number of incidents which come to the attention of services remains high.  The Brighton & Hove MARAC (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference) has above average levels of referrals of high-risk victims of domestic abuse and a significantly high repeat rate. There are cycles of repeat offending and repeat victimisation and only a small fraction of perpetrators are convicted.

The findings from our recent public survey highlighted sexual harassment as the most prevalent form of VAWG experienced in public spaces.  Going forward we intend to work in partnership to improve safety in public and private spaces.

Key facts

Domestic abuse is a prolific crime – 12% of all police recorded crime in 2021/22 had a domestic abuse flag.  Setting aside the many incidents which remain unreported, there were 3,299 crimes and 2,188 incidents which came to the attention of the police in Brighton & Hove in 2021/22. 

In 2021/22 the police recorded 1,239 sexual offences in Brighton & Hove, of which 1,077 were serious sexual offences, including 397 rape offences.  Both police recorded offences, and the numbers presenting at support services (for both females and males) have also increased over the last few years.  Sexual offences often happen in the context of the night-time economy as demonstrated by location and temporal patterns.

There were 463 crimes and incidents of stalking in Brighton & Hove recorded by the police in 2021/22 with 83% having female victims, and 9 police recorded crimes of honour based violence in 2021/22 with all victims being female. It is widely accepted that VAWG is more prevalent than recorded crime figures suggest.  Feedback from partners has highlighted that fear of not being believed is a key barrier to survivors reporting or help seeking. This is an issue for survivors of all genders and more so for those with intersecting protected characteristics.

Who’s affected

74% of domestic abuse offences in 2021/22 had a female victim and 88% of perpetrators between April 2020 and September 2021 were male.  For every case discussed at MARAC in 2021/22 there were an average of 1.3 children in the household.  The peak age of victims is 30-39 years.

In the case of police recorded sexual offences in 2021/22, 84% of victims were female and 16% male. 96% of perpetrators were male.  43% of offences were committed by strangers, 37% were by an acquaintance and 15% were committed by an intimate. The peak age group for victims was between 10 and 19 years old. 

Problems are already evident in young people’s relationships; the 2021 Safe and Well at School Survey found that 45% of 14-16 year olds who had ever had a boy/girlfriend had experienced a problem behaviour in their relationship, with those more likely to experience problems including LGBTQ+ and young carers.  This survey also found that 19% of 14-16 year olds said they had experienced someone at school touching them sexually when they did not want it.  This was more common in girls than boys and in LGBTQ+ pupils.

The fear of sexual violence extends beyond people who have experienced it, also affecting the lives of others in the wider community.

Our plans

Develop an integrated coordinated response to all forms of VAWG

·      Continue to implement the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 via coordination of the services that provide support in safe accommodation and the use of increased powers of the criminal justice services

·      Policy, performance and safeguarding. Our governance for collective review and development of efficient local response needs to be more robust.  We will ensure that the policies and procedures across services in the partnership align and that staff receive appropriate training and resources to identify VAWG and signpost appropriately

·      This will facilitate effective partnership working, make best use of resources, and ensure multi-agency support and response pathways work efficiently

·      All services will be offered multi-agency training to support improved identification of signs of abuse.

Work in partnership to prevent VAWG

·      Increase VAWG awareness communications aimed at younger people and, where appropriate, incorporate into Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education.

·      Utilise the White Ribbon campaign to work with licensed premises to combat sexual harassment

·      Continue to work with the pan-Sussex Domestic Abuse Board and Sexual Violence Board on pan-Sussex initiatives.

·      Expand our prevention and early intervention work via the wider reach of specialist services

·      Community groups have a key role in building the resources/resilience of survivors, both at the time of crisis and the longer term. We will develop our work with community and faith groups as we develop our integrated coordinated response to VAWG.

·      Work with partners in health to ensure all survivors identified in health services are signposted to appropriate specialist support.

Provide support for survivors/victims

·      Make better use of data and insights to improve services

·      Ensure that the voice of survivors/victims of all genders is central to service development

·      Develop targeted resources which enable effective signposting by front line officers

·      Continue to develop the MARAC in line with national best practice

·      Sustain long term improvements for all survivors.  We will work with our partners to build up survivor resilience and resources.  To include the social networks and skills that individual survivors/victims can draw upon to live independently

·      Create more safe spaces where people feel safe to disclose or reach out for support

·      Continue to support our specialist services to work together to tackle VAWG and to ensure there are clear routes to safety for all survivors

·      Maintain high quality trauma-informed service pathways providing coordinated and accessible interventions and support. This will be informed by what people tell us they want and need.

Hold perpetrators to account

·      Set a local target for solving VAWG crimes

·      Work to improve prevention through work with perpetrators, including disruption, early intervention, and training and awareness.

·      Negative views that support the beliefs that VAWG is acceptable will not be condoned.

·      Perpetrators of VAWG will be held accountable and supported to take active steps to change their behaviour.

·      Strengthen the criminal and civil justice response to perpetrators and develop sustainable proactive interventions and preventative programmes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anti-social behaviour

 

 

What we want to achieve

·     Reported anti-social behaviour (ASB) is assessed and responded to appropriately and consistently, making best use of resources

·     Harm caused by ASB to our most vulnerable residents and ASB in vulnerable geographical locations is reduced

·     ASB committed by priority and repeat perpetrators is reduced, making best use of tools and powers available

·     ASB, risk and harm associated with the street community and unauthorised encampments is reduced using supportive interventions, and enforcement where necessary

·     Youth ASB is identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity using supportive interventions and diversionary activities, and enforcement where necessary

·     Successes are communicated to key partners and communities while encouraging and supporting people to report ASB to statutory services.

Why this is a priority

Anti-social behaviour (ASB) can impact individuals, communities, businesses, and the environment, and we have a responsibility to do all that we reasonably can to reduce the harm caused by ASB.

ASB can have a significant negative impact on people’s lives and feelings of wellbeing in their homes as well as in public places.

Brighton & Hove City Council and other social housing providers have seen an increase in reported ASB, noise nuisance and ‘neighbour disputes’, possibly due to more people working from home. The providers also report an increased level and complexity of need of those persons accommodated in general needs housing.

An increase in ASB in and around supported accommodation has been noted by the police and the council.  This includes ASB associated with privately-run supported accommodation which brings an extra challenge as there is little in the way of national regulation or legislation to hold such providers to account.

Street community numbers have risen after a dip during Covid as Covid-related support has decreased and the government’s “everybody in” policy has come to an end; an increase in ASB associated with the street community, including unauthorised encampments, has been raised as a Sussex-wide concern.

Graffiti and public place drug use, including drug litter are issues that continue to be raised by the public, especially in city centre wards.

Key facts

National guidance and legislation in response to Covid-19 impacted on the level, type, and location of ASB, including that recorded by the police.  There was an increase in recorded ASB incidents as the police responded to incidents involving people contravening government restrictions or neighbourhood disputes.  However, since the end of these measures, the long-term downward trend in police recorded ASB incidents seen prior to Covid-19 has resumed.

There remains a city centre hotspot with corridors of police recorded ASB crimes[22] both West and North of the city centre. Reports of ASB to the council’s Community Safety Casework Team also show the highest number of reports to be in city centre wards, particularly St Peter’s & North Laine, Regency and Queen’s Park, and this is the similar for domestic noise complaints reported to the council, which are highest in Queen’s Park, Hanover & Elm Grove, and St. Peter’s & North Laine wards. Incidents of drug litter are highest in number in St. Peter’s & North Laine and Queen’s Park wards, collected in locations along the seafront, in the Royal Pavilion Gardens and the Level, particularly where the public toilets are located.

The peak in police recorded ASB crimes is earlier in the day than previously seen, with elevated number of offences in the afternoon and early evening on most days of the week, and a particular peak in offences on a Saturday night/ Sunday morning suggesting a link to the night-time economy.

Who’s affected

In 2021/22, of those police recorded ASB crimes where the gender of the victim was known, 57% of offences had a male victim, and 43% had a female victim. The rate of victimisation for ASB crimes peaked in the 40-49 age group for males, and 30-39 age group for females, decreasing in subsequent older age groups.

Of the city’s council housing tenants in 2022, those involved in ASB (as victims and/or perpetrators) are more likely to: be younger than average; live in flats or bedsits/ studios; live alone; be vulnerable and/or disabled; and be LGBT.

Our plans

The Safer Communities Team will continue to co-ordinate strategic work to tackle ASB across the city in partnership with the police and other key partners.  The Community Safety Casework Team will provide advice and guidance to a wide range of professionals, for example, social workers, local social housing and supported accommodation providers, on best practice in addressing ASB and reducing harm.

The monthly Joint Action Group will agree and review Community Safety Partnership operational priorities and ensure that available resources are appropriately deployed.

The ASB, Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced powers which we will make use of where appropriate and necessary to do so, particularly to address behaviour which causes the most harm, for example, cuckooing and associated ASB, ASB associated with the street community and unauthorised encampments, youth disorder and graffiti, and also to address the behaviour of repeat perpetrators. We will also use restorative practice and mediation where appropriate to reduce harm, and will implement the Home Office guidance that we must “put victims first”.

Partnership work to address harm associated with the street community, currently managed through the six-weekly Street Community Partnership meeting and the weekly Encampments meeting will be reviewed to ensure effective responses. The monthly Hate and ASB Risk Assessment Conference (HASBRAC) will manage the harm caused to victims of ASB and address the behaviour of priority and repeat perpetrators. Perpetrators will be offered supportive interventions to address their behaviour and enforcement will be used when necessary.

Work to address youth ASB and to stop young people involved in ASB becoming prolific offenders will be undertaken by providing diversionary activities in partnership with statutory Children’s services, local third sector support services and the business community.

Work with partners, whether from the community, voluntary or statutory sector is central to our effectiveness.  This includes keeping in close communication with elected members and residents through Local Action Teams and residents’ and community groups, feeding back successes and building trust and confidence in statutory services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hate incidents and crimes

 

 

 

What we want to achieve

 

·     Persons impacted by hate incidents understand the definition of hate incidents or crimes, know how to report them and have a range of reporting options

·     Reported hate incidents and crimes are assessed and responded to appropriately and consistently, making best use of resources

·     Ensure that the harm caused by hate incidents and crimes to our most vulnerable residents and in identified high impact geographical locations is reduced

·     Hate Incidents and crimes committed by priority and repeat perpetrators are reduced, making best use of tools and powers available

·     Successes are communicated to key partners and communities while people are encouraged and supported to report hate incidents to statutory services and third sector partners

·     Trust and confidence in local services is increased so that individuals and communities feel confident in reporting to and engaging with those services.

Why this is a priority

Those harmed by incidents and crimes where people are targeted because of a disability, their ethnicity or race, religion or faith, sexual orientation or transgender identity tell us that it has a significant effect on their quality of life, wellbeing and feelings of safety.

People harmed by hate crimes are often more emotionally impacted than persons harmed by other types of crime.

It is acknowledged that many hate incidents and crimes go unreported. Reasons for not reporting include not knowing what a hate incident or crime is, not knowing where are how to report, a lack of trust in statutory authorities and a belief that nothing will be done.

International conflict and polarised dialogue regarding such events risk having a negative impact upon community cohesion and an increase in hate incidents.

Brighton & Hove was specifically mentioned in recent national press coverage regarding critical race theory.  Some parents’ opposition to it being taught and debate regarding reform of the Gender Recognition Act has led to anti-LGBTQ+ narratives and reported hate incidents.

The Black Lives Matter campaign has seen negative counter-narratives and associated hate incidents.

Key facts

In Brighton & Hove in 2021/22 the police recorded 639 racist hate incidents and crimes (incl. 552 crimes), 303 hate incidents and crimes motivated by perceived sexuality (incl. 267 crimes), 73 motivated by disability (incl. 57 crimes), 62 motivated by gender identity (incl. 48 crimes), and 55 motivated by religion (incl. 44 crimes).[23]  93% of hate crimes are violence against the person crimes. 

There has been a long-term increasing trend in racist incidents and crimes, LGB related hate incidents and crimes, and disability related hate incidents and crimes recorded by the police, although the steepest rise in hate crime between 2013/14 and 2016/17 coincided with general improvements made to the recording of crimes by the police, especially regarding violent crimes. An increase in trans hate crimes both locally and nationally has coincided with an increase in anti-trans narratives in the media and online. It is important to remember, that not all hate incidents and crimes that happen are reported to the police; the Crime Survey England & Wales found that in the three years ending March 2018 53% of hate incidents (all strands combined) came to the attention of the police, an increase from 48% in the previous three year period.

The hotspot location of recorded hate crimes is the city centre, with peaks in offending in the afternoon and evening, particularly on a Saturday.  There is a seasonal pattern in hate incidents, with more happening in the summer months, in common with violent offences overall.  The highest number of hate incidents reported to the Community Safety Casework Team in 2021/22 occurred in Moulsecoomb & Bevendean, Queen’s Park, and St Peter’s & North Laine wards.

Who’s affected

Racist or religiously motivated, homophobic and transphobic hate crimes are most likely to occur on the street and be committed by a stranger.  Whilst most disability hate crimes also occur on the street, there is a higher proportion that occur in a dwelling than seen in other types of hate crime, and disability hate crimes are also more likely to be perpetrated by someone who is known to the victim.

Victims are more often male for racist or religiously motivated and homophobic hate crimes, but this is different for both disability and transphobic offences, which are more likely to have a female victim.

Our plans

The Housing, Neighbourhoods & Communities Directorate within Brighton and Hove City Council will continue to co-ordinate strategic work to reduce hate incidents and crimes and the harm they cause in partnership with the police and other key partners, including the third sector. The Community Safety Casework Team and the Communities, Equalities and Third Sector Team will provide advice and guidance to a wide range of professionals regarding best practice in addressing hate incidents and reducing harm.

The monthly Joint Action Group will agree and review Community Safety Partnership operational priorities and ensure that available resources are appropriately deployed.  The monthly Hate and ASB Risk Assessment Conference (HASBRAC) will address the harm caused to victims of hate incidents and crimes through supportive interventions and manage the behaviour of priority and repeat perpetrators. Perpetrators will be offered appropriate interventions to address their behaviour and enforcement will be used when necessary.

The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced powers which we will make use of where appropriate, particularly to address behaviour of repeat hate incident and crime perpetrators. We will also use restorative practice where appropriate to reduce harm. 

We will increase awareness of what a hate incident or crime is and how and where to report, providing a variety of reporting options, including Third Party Reporting Centres.

Working with partners, whether from the community, voluntary or statutory sector, including safeguarding agencies, is central to our work. This will include keeping in close communication with elected members, local residents and community groups, feeding back successes and building trust and confidence in statutory services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prevent

 

 

What we want to achieve

·         Terrorisms and extremisms are better understood, and frontline staff, partners and communities are better equipped to challenge them

·         Individuals vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism and extremism are identified at an early stage and supported to reduce risk

·         Individuals at risk of re-engaging in terrorism related activities are identified and supported to reduce risks and rehabilitation

·         Key sectors and institutions are better able to manage risks including those posed by extremist speakers, events, and groups

·         Improved compliance with the Prevent Duty is achieved

·         Cohesive communities have better resilience to the challenges posed by international, national, and local critical incidents, better manage and reduce the risk of harm caused to individuals and communities.

 

Why this is a priority

Prevent is a statutory duty and requires ‘specified authorities’ ‘to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’.  The Channel Duty requires vulnerable individuals to be supported before their vulnerabilities are exploited by those who want them to embrace terrorism, and before they become involved in criminal terrorist-related activity.

The UK faces a varied and persistent terror threat.  Terrorism remains one of the most direct and immediate risks to the UK’s national security.  In a step change in terrorist threat, five terrorist incidents took place in the UK in 2017 and the terrorism threat level was twice raised to ‘Critical’, meaning an attack is imminent.  Since 2017, ten further terrorist incidents have occurred, three of those in 2020, two in 2021 and one in 2022. 

Additionally, thirty-two terrorist plots (eighteen international terrorism plots, twelve extreme right-wing plots, and two left, anarchist or single-issue terrorism plots), have been successfully disrupted by the police and security agencies in the UK since March 2017, seven of those during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Five extreme right-wing organisations have been proscribed in the UK since 2016, two of them in 2021.  In 2021, ‘Hamas’ was also proscribed in its entirety (military and political wings) as a terrorist organisation.   The number of counter terrorism investigations has increased to over 800, although the number of arrests has reduced since 2017.  The threat level was increased following the two terrorist incidents occurring in the UK within a month in 2021 and has remained at ‘Substantial’ – meaning ‘an attack is likely’ since February 2022.  Northern Ireland related terrorism remains a serious threat, particularly in Northern Ireland itself. 

Terrorist attacks not only cause loss of life and economic damage, but they also fuel community tensions, damage public confidence and community cohesion.  International and national incidents impact on inter-community relations locally.  Right-wing and Daesh/ Al-Qaida-inspired terrorist groups feed off one another.  The most damaging impact is seen in ‘normalisation’ of these discourses and an associated reduction in challenges/ oppositional voices.  Unless the ideologies and the ideologue are challenged and recruitment to these groups stopped, the cycle of violence, criminality and hate incidents will continue with significant resource implications across partners and significant impact on communities.

All of this combines to paint a picture of a sustained and high tempo threat with significant impact.  It takes a whole society approach to effectively tackle terrorism. Partnership between communities, statutory and voluntary services is crucial in countering terrorism and building resilience.

Key facts

Several macro/structural factors are likely to impact, increasing demand, complexities, and likely to drive people into extremism and terrorism: geopolitics (for example the Russian/Ukraine conflict), global uncertainty (increased inflation, cost of living issues, economic downturn, after EU exit), climate change, migration, threats emanating from hostile states, increased communication, and the ever-expanding data environment. 

Local threats continue to arise from extreme right-wing terrorism, self-initiated terrorists (individual/s who may be inspired by the rhetoric of groups or causes across all extremist perspectives to carry out attacks), online influences, and online risks of radicalisation including gaming. 

The city has witnessed some direct extreme right-wing activity in the form of targeting of the hotels the Home Office have commissioned to accommodate Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children.  There has been targeting of a reading event as part of the national ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’.  A broad coalition of actors from extreme-right, anti-vaccine, conspiracy theory scene, and anti-establishment opposed the event.  Creating social media and online content to amplify and promote the core narrative of extreme-right has occupied a central place in these activities.  Extreme right-wing groups/ influencers are likely to exploit the issue of local asylum provision, migration, and LGBTQ+ issues to promote grievances, increase support and gain purchase in the city.

The risk from ‘Al-Qaida’ or ‘Daesh’ and affiliated or inspired terrorisms has continued with a rise in referrals related to this concern nationally and locally.  A city resident has been convicted for a terrorism offence.  The regulator, the Charity Commission, launched an investigation in 2022 to improve the governance of a faith institution in the city partially due to internal contestations and fragmentation.   Well-governed public institutions and spaces are reportedly resilient and better prevent people from being drawn into terrorism or supporting terrorism.

Different topical themes such as Brexit, Covid-19, anti-racist protests, environmental concerns, and anti-vaccine have been used by extremist and terrorist groups of all perspectives to expand their reach into communities, promote ‘victimisation narrative’, raise their profile, increase their membership, radicalise and recruit. 

Accessing violent, hateful, and terrorist content online can play a significant role in drawing vulnerable users into terrorism.  During the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, online activities and risks reportedly increased, with a significant increase in reach to young people, particularly from the extreme right-wing spectrum.  Online forums and communities not only provide an environment where it is possible to consume ideology, but they also provide materials or practical enablers of terrorist activity, create networks of like-minded peers, create an ‘echo-chamber’ and facilitate offline interactions.  Individuals may also move from being a consumer of online content to disseminating and producing online content.

Research by Hope Not Hate finds a new alignment of identity politics and the emergence of a new reactionary right threat.  The report finds that identity politics have increasingly been framed around a reaction to progressive values, cutting across multiple issues, from modern masculinity to structural racism and transgender rights.  The report finds that new ‘politics of identity is structured around four elements: attitudes around identity, political and institutional trust, attitudes towards different cultures and religions, and openness to conspiracy theory’.

Conspiracy theories not only fuel division but also mobilise audiences around supposed threats to society and can present a significant communications challenge.  They pose potential threat by engendering distrust in their audiences and encourage violence towards the government.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated a momentum for narratives based on the idea of distrusting governments and political policies.  These narratives have fostered a new style of ‘anti-government extremism’ that seems to attract a diverse set of actors, such as anti-vaxxers, conspiracists, right-wing extremists, and left-wing extremists.  With people feeling excluded from current systems and frustrated or indignant at government actions and the democratic system, extremists have exploited this discontent.  This antipathy or hostility towards the government’s policies, representatives and officials, and sometimes democratic institutions, can translate into violence.  This was seen in the murder of Sir David Amess MP, and terrorist plots against other MPs.  It has also manifested in violence towards police, vandalising vaccination centres, assaulting health staff, threatening politicians directly or indirectly through social media, and participation in (sometimes military style) defend groups. 

People’s relationships with authority, trust and institutions are likely to remain salient in future. The role and influence of social media and misinformation/disinformation has emerged prominently in people’s perception of and trust in the government or authorities. 

Prevent work has been delivered in the city since 2009 in partnership with our communities.  The city was identified as a Prevent priority area and supported by the Home Office with dedicated posts and projects to mitigate strategic risks from April 2015 until March 2022.  The city is no longer a Prevent priority area and Prevent delivery is funded from mainstream budget.  With this reduction in resources and budgetary pressures across partners it has been a challenge to sustain best practice.

Who’s affected

There were 203 arrests in Great Britain for terrorism-related activity in the 12 months ending June 2022, 20 more than the previous 12 month period.  The upward trend in children arrested for terrorism offences continues.  Children feature more often and more prominently in ongoing police investigations.  Evidence suggests that younger generation of offenders are accessing and viewing dangerous propaganda online, possibly accelerated by a greater dependence on technology during the pandemic.

A higher number of terror suspects arrested in the UK are ‘White’ (44%), compared to those of ‘Asian’ ethnicity (35%).  Prior to 2017 those of Asian appearance were the most numerous groups, but since then, those of White appearance have been higher.

There was a national decline in referrals to Channel in 2020/21, with 4,915 individuals referred due to concerns that they were vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism, and 688 people receiving Channel support.  The proportion of individuals receiving support due to right-wing extremism has increased steadily over the years reaching 46% in 2020/21 from 26% in 2015/16.  An increased number of referrals relate to Mixed, Unclear or Unstable ideology.  Most individuals referred to Channel and who consented to receive support were aged 20 years or under, and male.

Most Prevent referrals concern young men, with issues of trauma, adverse childhood experiences, isolation, and low self-esteem.  In Prevent referrals, mental health, ASC (Autistic Spectrum Condition), and learning needs are vulnerabilities that are increasingly prominent in risks of being drawn into terrorism for both young people and adults.

Recent research has revealed a striking prevalence (over a third) of domestic abuse in the lives of those referred to Prevent as being vulnerable to radicalisation. 

Increased access to misogynistic material is also noted, including increased attention to ‘Incel’ following Plymouth shooting incident in August 2021 in the UK.

Our plans

We will continue to build on our existing best practice in coordinating and delivering Prevent locally, our successful engagement with diverse communities and partners, and mainstream Prevent work.  Our annual Prevent action plan is responsive to emerging risks and trends and our delivery will be flexible and risk based.  The action plan will be amended annually in line with the strategic risks outlined in the counter terrorism local profile and the Brighton & Hove Prevent Risk Assessment. 

We will respond to the findings of the Independent Prevent Review, updated Contest Strategy, and any policy and operational changes, to shape local Prevent delivery and continue to work in partnership with our communities to continue to inspire community confidence in Prevent.  We will continue to ensure democratic oversight and scrutiny of the Prevent work.

Since inception, local Prevent delivery has adopted an anti-racist approach and the Prevent Action Plan continues to be guided by the principles of proportionality, flexibility, and inclusivity.  Empowered individuals and communities are at the heart of effective Prevent delivery.  Prevent delivery reaffirms its commitment to anti-racist and empowering approach to sustain trust of our communities.  Through improved communications of Prevent work and its impact, we will improve trust and confidence amongst partners and communities.

 

Appendix 1. About the Partnership

 

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 specifies that community safety strategies must be delivered by Community Safety Partnerships.  The ‘responsible authorities’ who are required by legislation to participate in our Community Safety Partnership are the local authority, police, probation, health, and fire and rescue services.  However, many other partners from the statutory, community/voluntary and business sectors, including the Police and Crime Commissioner are fully involved in the Partnership’s work.  Local residents also play a key role.

The Community Safety Partnership Board has overall responsibility for the work of the Partnership, while the individual priority areas within this strategy are supported by multi-agency working groups made up of specialists in the relevant area.  In some areas there are also dedicated staff to drive forward the work.  The Prevent Board is an extension of the Community Safety Partnership to fulfil statutory requirements through effective co-ordination of activities which meet strategic objectives of the Prevent Strategy and Prevent Duty.

Local Action Teams exist across the city and these are an important part of the Partnership.  LATs involve residents, local businesses and agencies working together and they provide a key route through which community safety issues for local neighbourhoods are taken forward.  LATs meet together via the LAT Forum where issues of common concern can be discussed and ideas shared.

The Community Safety Partnership links with the democratic process through the Tourism, Equalities, Communities and Culture Committee.  Integrated working with the Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner is being achieved through having regard to each other’s priorities and providing reciprocal support for delivery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 2022