Safer Arun Partnership

The Safer Arun Partnership (SAP) is the name given to the statutory local Community Safety Partnership, and brings together a number of agencies to jointly work to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour across the district.  It is recognised that no individual agency can deal with these issues in isolation.

The strategic vision of SAP is:

  • To reduce the risk of harm to our communities by creating a safer place for people to live, work, and visit.
  • To take a proactive approach to reducing crime and nuisance behaviour.
  • To consider the concerns of local people and to deliver against their priorities as well as those at county and national level.
  • To work together and make best use of partnership resources.

Safer Arun Partners

The Safer Arun Partnership membership includes representatives from:

Priorities and the Partnership Plan

SAP Priorities 2023-2025

The Safer Arun Partnership has adopted a three year partnership plan which sets out an overview of key areas of work, and how the partnership intends to tackle its strategic priorities. This three year approach is a new style of working, replacing the previous year-to-year plan. It is intended to provide greater scope for the partnership to achieve against its core aims and allow workplans to be better developed with more successful outcomes.

The priorities for SAP for 2023-2025 are:

  • Serious violence
  • Reducing drug and alcohol related harm
  • Tackling anti-social behaviour
  • Building community resilience

In addition to the Arun District specific community safety partnership, there is also a cross boundary partnership with Chichester. The Joint Community Safety Partnership addresses common themes to both Arun and Chichester and utilises resources to create the most effective shared responses.

This partnership also makes the most of the local Arun and Chichester policing hub and allows for collaboration between agencies to identify and take action on community based issues that affect both areas.

The Partnership Plan

The Community Safety Partnership for Arun considers its annual priorities through the Strategic Intelligence Assessment. This report forms the evidence to produce a partnership plan for a 5 year strategy. 

Read the latest SAP Partnership Plan

Strategic Intelligence Assessment

West Sussex County Council produce an annual Strategic Intelligence Assessment (SIA) for each of the districts in the county. The SIA analyses various data sets and compares trends to previous years. SAP utilises this report to ensure that its strategic priorities are reflective of current concerns and taking account of emerging risks.

You can read the latest SAP Strategic Intelligence Assessment online.

Meeting minutes

2023

SAP meeting notes 24 January 2023

Anti-spiking ‘HEY!’ campaign

We recognise the dangers caused by spiking someone, whether by drugs or additional alcohol. Spiking is cowardly and our ‘HEY!’ campaign directs its messaging at those spiking, drawing attention to their gutless behaviour.

The act of spiking is a serious crime which can be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. If spiking leads to further criminal acts, such as assault or rape, additional charges and punishment may be applied.

It is unlikely that you will notice anything different about your drink if it has been spiked, so please:

  • never leave your drink unattended
  • do not accept drinks from anyone you don’t know and trust
  • try to avoid drinking too much alcohol which can diminish your senses
  • avoid shared drinks such as fishbowls or jugs
  • stay close to your friends and look out for each other

If you feel that your drink has had an unexpected effect on you, seek help immediately.

If you think a friend has been spiked, you can help them by:

  • alerting venue staff
  • staying with them
  • calling an ambulance if their condition worsens
  • not letting them go home on their own
  • not letting them leave with someone you don’t know and trust
  • preventing them drinking more alcohol

Recent national reports indicate spiking can also occur by injection. Be aware of any sharp sudden pains and, if you do experience this, check the area for an injection site.

Call 999 immediately if you need urgent help.

If you see any suspicious activity, please report if to staff or Police.

If you have any information about who may be committing such offences, report in confidence to the Police or Crimestoppers (0800 555111).

Joint Action Group

The Joint Action Group (JAG) is directly responsible to SAP and is set up with the aim of building stronger and more resilient communities and improving public confidence. A wide selection of local agencies and groups work together to identify widespread place based concerns and seek to reduce local crime and disorder.

A co-ordinated multi agency approach is needed to:

  • analyse and deliver proactive initiatives around seasonal crime trends (Halloween, and school holidays)
  • identify emerging community concerns, problem behaviour, and hotspot locations
  • reduce the harmful impact of drugs, serious & organised crime, and exploitation in local communities
  • provide feedback to affected communities
  • listen to the views of local people and to understand their concerns

JAG members

JAG is co-chaired by Arun District Council (Community Safety team) and Sussex Police (Neighbourhood Policing).  Other key members include:-

JAG reporting form

JAG members and community organisations can report persistent and widespread disorder within local areas.

Report a community concern

Please note this form should not be filled in by individuals and is for agency use only.