Sussex Violence Reduction Partnership

What the Sussex Violence Reduction Partnership is and how we're tackling serious violent crime in Brighton & Hove.

The Sussex Violence Reduction Partnership (Sussex VRP) is set up to protect young people and make our communities safer. Brighton & Hove City Council is part of this partnership.

We're funded by the Home Office and use a public health approach to tackling and reducing serious violent crime.

The Sussex VRP  brings together data and expertise from:

  • Sussex Police
  • local authorities
  • hospitals
  • national and local health bodies
  • criminal justice
  • community organisations

We know violence is preventable – not inevitable

The Sussex VRP focuses on reducing violence that:

  • occurs in a public place
  • has a victim, suspect or offender under the age of 25
  • causes or is intended to cause serious injury (GBH or wounding criminal definition)
  • involves the use of one or more:
    • firearms
    • knives or bladed or pointed weapons - whether made, adapted or intended as a weapon
    • other offensive weapons (whether made, adapted or intended), including acid or corrosive substances 

How the Sussex VRP prevents serious violent crime

High-profile police enforcement is one way to tackle serious violent crime. However, to successfully tackle and reduce serious violent crime, we must take a coordinated approach. We must look at the long-term solutions to violence in society - especially among young people.

We refer to The Sussex VRP model as ‘hub’ and ‘spoke'.

The ‘hub’ is a core group made up of senior officers from key organisations from across the county.

The ‘spokes’ are individual local partnerships that feed into the hub core group.

Brighton & Hove City Council, East Sussex County Council and West Sussex County Council each have local partnerships (spokes), which sit under the Sussex VRP (hub).

The Brighton & Hove Violence Reduction Partnership

The Brighton & Hove Violence Reduction Partnership (Brighton & Hove VRP) is a 'spoke' co-chaired and coordinated by Sussex Police and Brighton & Hove City Council.

There are separate subgroups focusing on:

  • data
  • victims
  • perpetrators
  • communities
  • locations

Brighton & Hove VRP interventions

The Brighton & Hove VRP commissions interventions to:

  • help reduce the risk of serious violent crime in the city
  • improve support for victims.

Brighton Streets

Brighton Streets Partnership is a citywide, coordinated, street-based youth work programme. 

It's led by the Trust for Developing Communities (TDC). They deliver the programme alongside the:

Find out more about the work of Brighton Streets Partnership.

Hospital youth work project 

Youth workers at the Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital in Brighton offer immediate support to vulnerable young people attending the Emergency Department who may have experienced substance abuse, violence or criminal exploitation.

The youth workers can continue this support after discharge and refer the young people to local services where they live.

The project is delivered by the TDC.

Find out more about the hospital youth worker project.

Other interventions 

There are additional targeted interventions working with specific groups of people in the city.

These are delivered by:

More information

Go to the Police Crime and Commissioner website for more information about the Sussex Violence Reduction Partnership.