In April 2022, Cleveland’s OPCC was notified of its successful application for Violence Reduction Unit (VRU.)
This resulted in the establishment of the Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence’ (CURV.)
CURV was tasked with bringing together all partners and stakeholders to develop and deliver an intelligence- led strategy. This is aimed at reducing serious violence throughout Cleveland through a Public Health agenda.
In 2022, the Serious Violence Duty was introduced through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.
The duty requires specified authorities to work together to plan, prevent and reduce serious violence within the local government area.
As part of this work, CURV commissioned Crest Advisory to undertake a Strategic Needs Assessment (SNA.)
The SNA outlined the scale, nature, and drivers of serious violence in Cleveland. The report was updated in 2024.
It identified that rates of serious violence offending are highest on the weekend, particularly in the evening and early morning. This potentially aligned with peaks in the night-time economy and geographical zones.
In order to further understand this, CURV commissioned a bespoke Night Time Economy Problem Profile. It provided a more in-depth understanding of the causes and drivers of serious violence within the NTE.
This allowed a NTE Action Plan to be developed. The plan focused on reducing incidents of serious violence within and around NTE zones.
The interventions were approved after consultation with key NTE stakeholders, who have attended a series of workshops and forums. These were facilitated and delivered by CURV during late 2023. They are in line with the NTE Action Plan. The Funding, totalling, £45,339.43, will enable the following:
1. Barnardos (Child Sexual Exploitation Training)
Barnardos is one of the largest children’s charities in the UK, supporting children, young people, parents and carers across a number of different services.
There is a specific focus on children made vulnerable through exploitation.
Barnardos will deliver education sessions alongside the Cleveland Police Child Exploitation Team to hotel staff in Redcar and Hartlepool.
This is In support of Operation Makesafe, developed to raise awareness of child exploitation in the business community (such as hotels, licensed premises, taxi companies.)
With previous CURV funding, this has been delivered across hotels in Middlesbrough and Stockton Positive outcomes have been reported by staff members. At least one Operation Makesafe job has been reported as a result.
The session covers the following:
- What is child sexual exploitation.
- What are the signs to look for.
- What are the laws concerning businesses.
- What policies should hotels have in place.
- What the reporting procedures are in concerns are identified.
Barnardos will also deliver CSE training tailored to licensed premises, NTE volunteer groups and taxi drivers at the NTE Safety Forum in January 2025.
Furthermore, this training will be expanded to include transport companies, targeting Northern Rail, TransPennine Express, Arriva and Stagecoach. This is subject to further conversations with the Tees Valley Combined Authority
2. Stakeholder Engagement
In January 2025, the second NTE Safety Forum will take place. This will bring together key partners such as community safety teams, licensing officers, licensees, NTE volunteer groups and taxi companies.
It is important to embed relationships between trade and partners to ensure that resources funded by CURV are used as effectively as possible to create a safer NTE.
3. Additional Radios for Licensed Premises
CURV previously funded Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council to purchase a radio system to support communication between licensed premises during peak NTE times.
This is to be expanded in Yarm’s NTE area with the purchase of additional radios.
Premises in Yarm have reported a number of incidents being caught or prevented with a limited number of radios.
4.St John’s Ambulance
St John’s Ambulance is a first aid charity offering training courses, advice and volunteering opportunities.
This programme will be aimed at three key groups: NTE volunteer groups, Pubwatch groups and students and staff at Teesside University.
Sessions will focus on one theme: catastrophic bleeds. They will include instruction on how to use equipment within a bleed kit and what other everyday items can be used if a bleed kit is not available.
There is an opportunity to expand this training to cover further themes, such as how to respond to spiking incidents.
5. Community Pot
As part of Phase One of the NTE Action Plan, CURV committed to holding a community pot accessible to all four areas across Cleveland.
If needed, this funding will be used towards replenishing bleed kits and repairing/replacing damaged bleed cabinets or radios.
If unspent during this financial year, the pot can be used towards key resources such as anti-spiking equipment.
6.ARCH — Education Work in Higher Education
ARCH Teesside is a specialist sexual violence service offering free and confidential support, help and advocacy.
This is offered to people in the Teesside area, who have experienced rape and sexual abuse, at any point in their lives.
This programme will see a specialist Education worker from ARCH deliver a comprehensive training session to young people in higher education.
The sessions will cover consent, sexual violence, spiking, bystander approaches and support services available. There will be a clear link to the NTE running through the content.
7. NTE Volunteer Group Resources and Training
This will provide support to NTE volunteers with items such as anti-spiking resources, flip flops and bottles of water.
Funding will also go towards first aid and conflict management training for new volunteers.
Organisations covered include the following: Boro Angels, Women’s Street Watch and Hartlepool Town Pastors.
8. Drug Dog Operations in the NTE
CURV will support Cleveland Police to fund two drug detection dogs for operations in Hartlepool and Stockton.
The operations will take place between the hours of 6pm and midnight, subject to the Operation Order.
This is a preventative measure and acts as a deterrent to both individuals attempting to bring drugs into the NTE, but also to licensed premises, who should have stringent drug policies.
9. Redcar Angels
Subject to Community Safety Partnership (CSP) match funding, cash will establish a Street Angels group to operate in the Redcar NTE area.
Each defined NTE zone across Cleveland would then have dedicated vulnerability support at peak times.
The group will be volunteer-driven. Funding will be allocated to marketing and outreach to recruit volunteers. Comprehensive training will be given including conflict resolution, emergency response and community engagement.
Funding will also be allocated for the purchase of APEX radios which will ensure the group remains in communication with venues as well as the CCTV control room.
10. Drug Interventions
An additional number of drugs’ boxes and registers will be installed in licensed premises in Middlesbrough’s NTE area. Locations will be chosen based on intelligence.
Drug searches and the use of drug boxes are included as licensing conditions for some premises. It is also strongly suggested as an element of good practice by the council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.
This encourages SIA licensed staff to be more pro-active in searching individuals for drugs, as well as evidencing what drugs are circulating in the NTE and at what intensity.
11. Media Campaign
CURV will collaborate with Middlesbrough Council to produce a multi-media behaviour change campaign.
The campaign aims to prevent actions which may lead to violent incidents in the NTE.
This campaign will focus on calling out perpetrator behaviour through messaging around the following five key issues:
- Spiking;
- Knife crime;
- Respect for NTE workers;
- VAWG;
- One punch.
Middlesbrough council have also received funding from Grip, additional to CURV’s contribution. This will go towards the design and production of posters, social media content, development of a video, social media adverts, radio adverts and Gobo lighting. the campaign will be rolled out Cleveland-wide.
Many of the resources can be used across Cleveland. However, funding will also be used towards individual plans for each local authority area.
Funding can be used towards printing costs, bus adverts and digital adverts
12. Licensee Fee for radio users
CURV previously funded the purchase of approximately 60 APEX radios in Redcar and
Middlesbrough’s NTE areas.
This has proved to be successful in encouraging communication between venues and reducing violence seen by NTE workers. Some premises have reported a 95% reduction in violent incidents.
CURV will fund a further year of the licensee fee, in line with fees across resources, with the agreement that licensed premised will begin supporting this the next year.
Funding Decisions
- Barnardos (Child Sexual Exploitation Training) – approve funding of £7,000 for financial year 2024/25.
- Stakeholder Engagement – approve funding of £2,568 for financial year 2024/25.
- Radios – approve funding of £3,545.43 for financial year 2024/25.
- St John’s Ambulance (Young Responder) – approve funding of £3,300.00 for financial year 2024/25.
- Community Pot – approve funding of £1,000.00 for financial year 2024/25.
- ARCH (Consent/Sexual Violence/Bystander Education) – approve funding of £600 for financial year 2024/25.
- NTE Volunteer Groups – approve funding of £3,000 for financial year 2024/25.
- Drug Dog Operations – approve funding of £1,392.00 for financial year 2024/25.
- Redcar Angels – approve funding of £3,000 for financial year 2024/25.
- Drug Testing Pilot Scheme – approve funding of £8,504 for financial year 2024/25.
- Media Campaign – approve funding of £7,500 for financial year 2024/25.
- Radio License Fee – approve funding of £4,080 for financial year 2024/25.
Total funding approved as part of this decision: £45,339.43
Decision 2024/25- 09: CURV Serious Violence Duty Funding allocations (application, 1MB)