Creating Lasting Change Through Early Action and Support
Early Intervention Youth Plan: Tackling Youth Crime at its Roots
Creating Safer, Resilient Communities for Brighton’s Future
Brighton’s businesses are a vital part of our community. They shape our city’s atmosphere, support the local economy, and provide spaces where people gather, work, and connect. However, issues of youth crime and anti-social behaviour can directly affect local businesses and create an environment of unease for staff and customers alike.
At the Brighton Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP), we believe in addressing youth crime not just as isolated incidents but as a complex, systemic issue requiring thoughtful, innovative, and collaborative solutions.
Our Early Intervention Youth Plan is a ground-breaking approach that moves beyond reactive measures, focusing on prevention and creating real, lasting change for young people involved.
Our approach is unique and impactful for businesses. By addressing youth crime at its roots and working with partner agencies to resolve the underlying causes of youth disorder, we contribute to building safer, more resilient communities – benefiting both businesses and residents.
Why It Matters to Businesses
Youth crime impacts the whole city, with businesses facing challenges such as shoplifting, anti-social behaviour, assaults against staff, and reputational damage. But youth crime is not only about isolated incidents; it’s often part of a larger pattern that, if left unchecked, can lead to more serious offences, harm to vulnerable individuals, and weakened communities.
Our Early Intervention Youth Plan offers businesses a new perspective on addressing these issues. Rather than focusing solely on enforcement or punitive measures, we take a holistic, community-driven approach that builds resilience in both the individuals involved and the businesses affected.
Through information sharing with key partners – such as youth services, schools, police, and other local organisations – we create a network of support that helps divert young people from harmful behaviours. This collaborative effort reduces the risk of repeated offences, improving overall safety for businesses and the areas in which they operate.
A Shared Responsibility for Safer Communities
Preventing Crime, Protecting Businesses
Society often views business crime solely in terms of reacting to incidents like shoplifting or anti-social behaviour. By addressing youth crime at its root causes, we shift the focus to prevention. Our Early Intervention Youth Plan works to prevent young people from engaging in criminal activities before they become entrenched in the system. This means businesses benefit from long-term relief as we tackle the underlying factors that lead to incidents on their premises.
Early information sharing enables businesses to gain insight into local youth concerns, helping them make informed decisions about their security and operations. More importantly, it reframes young people as individuals needing support rather than ‘problems’, fostering a positive relationship between businesses and their local communities.
Why Enforcement-Only Approaches Have Failed
Traditional methods of tackling youth crime often rely heavily on enforcement, such as arrests and punitive measures. These approaches typically fail to address the root causes and, in many cases, only escalate the issue. Criminalising young people without addressing the factors leading to their involvement in crime risks pushing them further into harmful behaviours.
This reactive model fails young people and leaves communities and businesses vulnerable to the recurring effects of crime and anti-social behaviour. Enforcement alone doesn’t solve the problem. A comprehensive, preventative approach is needed to identify and address harmful behaviours before they escalate.
Our Early Intervention Youth Plan takes a different path. By focusing on prevention, intervention, and support rather than punishment, we tackle youth crime at its roots and work to change harmful behaviours while providing young people with the resources they need to thrive. This comprehensive approach benefits businesses by reducing crime and improving community relations.
How the Early Intervention Youth Plan Works
Our Early Intervention Youth Plan follows a clear, multi-agency approach, ensuring youth crime is addressed comprehensively and preventatively. This approach, developed by Sarah Morris, Daytime Intelligence Manager and Safeguarding Lead for the Brighton Crime Reduction Partnership, draws on her extensive experience in youth crime prevention, safeguarding, and multi-agency collaboration. Her innovative approach to information sharing and early intervention has shaped a programme that meets the needs of businesses while supporting vulnerable young people. the rest.
Here’s how it works:
Identifying Concerns Early
Starting Point: The process begins with a report or concern raised by a business through our DISC system, school, or local organisation about a young person or group showing signs of anti-social behaviour, minor crime involvement, or vulnerability (e.g., potential exploitation).
Key Players: Businesses, local youth organisations, police, and community members.
Sharing Information Across Agencies
Coordination Hub: BCRP serves as a central hub for collecting and sharing information with key partners (police, youth services, schools, and social organisations) while maintaining strict privacy protocols.
Real-Time Communication: Essential information is shared across agencies in real-time, enabling a fuller understanding of the individual’s background, risk factors, and any recurring behavioural patterns.
Developing a Tailored Support Plan
Multi-Agency Collaboration: BCRP and its partners develop a personalised intervention plan focusing on prevention and positive behavioural change, considering each young person’s unique circumstances.
Intervention Options: Support may include mentorship, skill-building workshops, counselling, family support, or education and employment opportunities.
Direct Support and Engagement
Outreach and Support Services: Community organisations and mentors engage directly with the young person, providing guidance, support, and resources to help move away from harmful behaviours.
Community Involvement: Local businesses and partners contribute by offering support, insight, or opportunities, fostering positive relationships and demonstrating alternative pathways.
Monitoring Progress and Adjusting the Plan
Regular Check-Ins: Agencies involved monitor the young person’s progress, making adjustments to the plan as needed.
Ongoing Evaluation: Success and setbacks are regularly assessed to adapt each case based on real-time feedback, ensuring long-term change.
Building Long-Term Community Resilience
Outcomes for the Community: As young people progress, local businesses benefit from reduced anti-social behaviour and a safer environment.
Preventative Education: Successful approaches inform future strategies, improving early identification and reducing recurring issues.
Creating Safer Communities Through Innovation
Innovation in Information Sharing
One of the most innovative aspects of our Early Intervention Plan is our approach to information sharing. Traditionally, agencies such as youth services, police, and schools worked in isolation, which created barriers to effective intervention and left businesses out of the wider picture. Our plan breaks down these barriers, enabling a collaborative, multi-agency
response that ensures all behaviours are addressed and key information is shared.
This approach allows early identification and tailored support before harmful behaviours escalate. Businesses play a crucial role in this by sharing insights and acting as a bridge between the community and support services, creating a shared responsibility that benefits everyone.
The Positive Impact: Changing Lives, Strengthening Communities
A Case Study of Change
In 2023, businesses raised concerns through the Brighton DISC system about a group of young girls involved in shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. Through our Early Intervention Youth Plan, we shared these concerns with Trust for Developing Communities (TDC), who engaged with the girls positively. This outreach introduced them to new opportunities, such as dance and beauty workshops, leading some to enrol in college. The harm to the community was significantly reduced.
This is just one example of how our Early Intervention Youth Plan is changing lives. By focusing on prevention, education, and restorative support, we help young people turn their lives around while reducing the impact of crime and anti-social behaviour on businesses.
Building Lasting Change Together
The Early Intervention Youth Plan aims to reduce crime and create lasting, positive change for young people. By intervening early and offering tailored support, we prevent vulnerable young people from being pushed into the criminal justice system and provide them with the tools to lead crime-free lives.
This is a radical shift from traditional models, and it’s one businesses can support wholeheartedly. As we continue to work with key partners across the city, we can make Brighton a place where businesses thrive alongside safer, more resilient communities.
The Early Intervention Youth Plan is about more than reducing crime; it’s about building stronger communities where young people have the chance to succeed and businesses can flourish. By working together and focusing on prevention, we can create a safer Brighton for everyone.
Meet the Early Intervention Partners
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Brighton Crime Reduction Partnership
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Youth Justice Service
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Brighton Streets
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Brilliant Brighton
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R U OK?
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Sussex Police
Let’s Work Together
info@bcrpbrighton.com
01273 733393
If you’re an education provider, youth organisation, charity, or business in the city that wants to get involved with our project, get in touch today.
To join the BCRP as a membership, click below.