The Community Confidence Board met to discuss serious violence and knife crime in South Yorkshire, hearing from South Yorkshire Police and the Violence Prevention Partnership about their strategies and interventions. Presentations highlighted reductions in serious violence and knife crime, alongside ongoing challenges and future plans to further enhance community safety.

South Yorkshire Police's Response to Serious Violence and Knife Crime

Assistant Chief Constable Hayley Barnett presented an overview of South Yorkshire Police's work on Most Serious Violence (MSV), which encompasses a range of offences from murder to assault with intent to cause serious harm. She noted that approximately 25% of MSV offences are domestic-related, with the remaining 75% linked to the night-time economy and gang-related crime. While recorded MSV offences have shown significant reductions in recent years, there is a projected increase for the current year.

Barnett highlighted demographic trends, indicating that MSV is concentrated in urban areas, particularly those with a thriving night-time economy, such as Doncaster and Sheffield. Victims and suspects are predominantly male and younger, with a higher prevalence among Black and mixed-ethnicity communities. This necessitates a bespoke, targeted approach rather than a blanket strategy.

The force employs Problem Orientated Policing (POP) strategies, including hotspot policing, to address root causes of violence. Operation Streetsafe in Doncaster City Centre involves targeted patrols, engagement with licensed premises, and support from street pastors. In Sheffield City Centre, a POP plan focused on improving guardianship, tackling problematic venues, redesigning the environment, supporting vulnerable people, and focusing on high-harm offenders resulted in an 11% reduction in MSV and public order offences, and a 38% reduction in knife crime between 2024 and 2025.

Barnett also detailed offender management strategies, including Integrated Offender Management (IOM), Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), and Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO). The Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) dashboard is used to identify individuals causing the most harm.

Regarding outcomes, the force's action taken rate for MSV, which primarily involves charges, has increased to approximately 30% for 2026, with an ambition to reach 34%. However, victim disengagement accounts for around 40% of unresolved outcomes, often linked to gang-related cultures. The Sentencing Act reforms, leading to earlier offender releases, present a challenge that is being addressed through partnership work with probation services.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) Knife Crime Approach - Working in Partnership

Kelly Wilson, Head of the Violence Prevention Partnership (VPP), outlined the VPP's role in understanding and preventing violence, with a specific focus on supporting children and young people at risk. The VPP has provided nearly £600,000 in community grants to 34 organisations to help reduce knife crime, with funding prioritised in areas of highest need.

A key initiative is the Pol-ED resource, a free educational package for schools and community organisations, funded until at least 2029. It covers topics such as relationships, keeping safe, understanding the law, and wellbeing, tailored to different age groups. Since its launch, over 6,500 children in South Yorkshire have participated in Pol-ED sessions. The resource also uses crime data to allow schools to tailor lessons to local ward-specific issues.

Current knife crime interventions include a Safer Knife Replacement Scheme in Doncaster and Sheffield youth offending teams, where young people identified as at risk of carrying knives can swap them for rounded blades. The Focused Deterrence programme, which offers structured mentoring, is being piloted in Sheffield with Sheffield Wednesday Football Club and is planned to roll out across South Yorkshire from April 2027. A&E navigators, funded by the VPP, are also working at the Northern General Hospital to support individuals who have been injured or involved in incidents.

The VPP is developing a three-year county-wide Knife Crime Response strategy, focusing on preventing harm through coordinated prevention, intervention, and partnership activity. Key priorities include identifying and supporting vulnerable children and young people, designing interventions to meet their needs, and prioritising locations with the highest prevalence of knife crime. The VPP is also launching a Community Leaders Programme and a Knife Crime Lived Experience Group to ensure community voices shape their work.

Discussion and Public Engagement

During the question and answer session, concerns were raised about the increasing prevalence of violence in Doncaster, particularly late at night, and the role of bloggers filming incidents, which some attendees felt attracted further violence. Matthew Clay, Director of Policing and Reform at SYMCA, acknowledged this as a serious issue and stated that efforts would be made to explore how to counter such content online, potentially through the Online Safety Bill.

Attendees also discussed the perception of crime versus reality, with concerns that social media can create unnecessary fear among young people. Chief Constable Lauren Poultney emphasised the importance of community conversations and trusted individuals, such as parents and teachers, engaging with young people about their experiences and fears. Ash Franklin, Chief Inspector, added that the police would use data to reassure children about actual knife-carrying rates and would work with charities like Crimestoppers to gather intelligence and disseminate messages.

The need for a more joined-up approach within community safety partnerships and local authorities was highlighted, with a focus on developing a single digital view of information to improve safeguarding and reduce duplication of effort. The VPP is working on creating a dashboard to provide a real-time view of hotspots and share this intelligence with partners.

Concerns were also raised about the impact of poverty and health inequalities on young people's involvement in violence. Kilvinder Vigurs, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, stressed the need for a holistic approach that addresses poverty and increases opportunities for all age groups.

Finally, a question was raised about the effectiveness of knife arches, with a local business owner in Doncaster recalling a one-off deployment that appeared to be for publicity. District Commander Pete Thorpe for Doncaster confirmed that knife arches are routinely deployed, particularly in Frenchgate, and are a useful tactic for identifying individuals who may wish to avoid them. He also presented data showing a 44% reduction in most serious violence offences across Doncaster between 2022 and 2025, while acknowledging that perceptions of safety do not always align with the data.