Serious violence

About serious violence

The definition of serious violence used in Sussex is:

Crime types that cause or are intended to cause serious injury, and includes homicide, knife crime (including knife possession), personal robbery and gun crime, where these occur in a public place.

Serious violence can happen in different ways. 

This includes:

• alcohol-related violence
• domestic violence
• organised violence, including drug-related violence and exploitation
   

The impact of serious violence

Serious violence, or the threat of violence, can have a negative impact on:

• individuals
• communities
• the city as a whole

You may not feel safe and it can impact your wellbeing.

Violence offences with injury are estimated to have the highest cost impact on the city. This takes into account the costs to individuals and services.

If residents and visitors are scared to come to the Brighton & Hove, that poses an economic cost to the city.

The Serious Violence Duty (2023) requires us to develop a strategy to prevent and reduce serious violence within the city.

We'll work with the following services to develop this strategy:

• police
• justice
• health
• fire and rescue

How to report serious violence