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Serious Violence Duty

The Serious Violence Duty was introduced in January 2023 as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which forms a key part of the Government policy to prevent and reduce serious violence. The Duty encourages taking a whole-system approach to understand the causes and consequences of serious violence, focussing on prevention and early intervention.

The Duty has placed a statutory responsibility on a range of organisations to work together to generate the production and implementation of a local strategy, which outlines the collective action the partnership will take to prevent and reduce serious violence.

Norfolk's definition of serious violence includes crime types of violence against the person offences (including homicide), possession of weapons, robbery, sexual offences, arson and criminal damage offences endangering life, aggravated burglary and vehicle offences, selected miscellaneous crimes against society, and selected public order offences. The definition includes violence related to domestic abuse, hate crime, weapon related crime, public space violence affecting young people, and county lines drug markets and exploitation.

In response, the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership has developed this strategy (link below) and identified four priority areas with a focus on:

  • The safety of young people
  • The prevention of domestic abuse
  • The places and spaces most affected by serious violence
  • Drugs and alcohol as a driver of serious violence

Serious Violence Duty Response Strategy for Norfolk

Easy Read Serious Violence Duty Response Strategy for Norfolk

Mark Stokes, Chair of the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership and CEO at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk said: “This strategy builds on our existing strengths as partners in violence prevention. It recognises the brilliant work that is already happening in Norfolk, but also forms the basis for further development and co-production of our local response. Together we can build long-term sustainable approaches to violence prevention and reduction.”