Brighton and Hove: developing a culture of doing ‘with’ as prevention rather than cure

Abstract

Brighton & Hove Community Safety Partnership made a commitment to become a restorative city in 2015. This partnership is made up of representatives from agencies such as the local authority, police, housing providers, emergency serv‐ ices, mental health, social care and community organisations. Brighton & Hove is a metropolitan city in Sussex (UK) with a population of around 280,000 people. There is a diverse population of which 14 per cent are students; 16 per cent were born outside of the UK; 20 per cent are Black, Asian or some other ethnic minor‐ ity; 15 per cent are lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender; 16 per cent are disa‐ bled or have a long-term health problem that limits their day-to-day activities; and while we have diverse faith communities 42 per cent of Brighton & Hove’s population state they have no religion. There was already significant restorative justice provision with the city’s youth offending service. The Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex is a keen advocate for victims of crime and had invested in three restorative justice teams based in police stations throughout the county providing post-sentence restora‐ tive justice for adults through the Sussex restorative justice partnership. The community safety partnership was inspired by the success rates of vic‐ tim-offender meetings and made a successful bid to the Police and Crime Com‐ missioner to fund a one-year development post to explore how restorative approaches may be able to improve early intervention and preventative work in non-criminal justice settings such as education, social care, health and commun‐ ity safety. The main financial output for this project has been the development officer’s salary of around £42,000 per year. In addition to this there has been investment of around £5,000 for accreditation of training and services.