Community Safety Serious Violence Fund 2025/26

The Long Game

Leaders Unlocked – £21,310.00 – Countywide

The Long Game is an interactive prevention and early intervention project aimed both at professionals and young people (YP) at risk of Child Criminal Exploitation, aged 11-18. It was developed through lived experience of county lines and modern slavery and is delivered in a youth-led, discussion-based, workshop format. The programme was piloted in North Yorkshire in 2024 and engaged 2328 young people.  Phase 2 will expand the project and place a heavy emphasis on creating a positive legacy within North Yorkshire. In addition to engaging with YP, a professionals session, to educate those working to keep children and young people safe will be delivered, aiming to create a long-lasting positive change. Further value will be added by working with both young people and professionals to co-produce educational resources that can be used to raise awareness of the key issues beyond the duration of the project. Project will deliver 12 workshops in Mainstream education settings, 8 workshops in alternative settings to YP at higher or immediate risk of CCE and 3 professional workshops. These may be in-person or online dependant on partners needs.  Project will deliver 5 co-production sessions with young people who also participate in the Long Game; and work with professionals on an ongoing basis to develop resources which can be used by professionals in both group and individual settings to hold open and informative conversations on County Lines and Criminal Exploitation.

Virtually There – Knife crime secondary prevention resource

North Yorkshire Police, School Liaison Team (SLT), Local Policing Support – £29,534.20 -Countywide

The Virtually There project is designed to enhance the current early intervention, prevention and education offered by North Yorkshire Police (NYP) and partners through the Op Divan process.  Op Divan is aimed at CYP who have been or are thinking of using or carrying knives and other weapons associated with ‘county lines’ including drugs, child exploitation and bullying.  Early intervention and education are offered on the back of intelligence received.  There is a requirement to introduce a further engagement strand which can be used to effectively involve young people identified as habitual knife carriers or vulnerable to exploitation, as well as complement existing YJS weapons offence intervention provision.    Virtually There is an immersive 360-degree film that aims to build an emotional understanding of the devastating impact of knife crime amongst CYP.  The aim is to use the film and associated resources to enhance the Op Divan early intervention and prevention process to incorporate those CYP who continue to be identified as being at risk of carrying and using knives or weapons.  The proposal is to widen the multi-agency partnership delivery to also include NYP Missing & Exploitation Team, Children & Family Services, Pupil Referral Units and schools Alternative Provisions, Children’s Homes as well as commissioned services such as Change Direction.  The proposal is to implement and test a model by Sussex Police which promotes the use of the Virtually There resource across a multi-agency partnership to young people who are identified as being within the risk group. Currently those that are identified as habitual knife carriers or at risk of, receive no further intervention or prevention focus.  Outcomes and learning will be used to inform future approach.

Emotional wellbeing support for young
people at alternative provision
secondary schools, to help prevent them
from becoming involved in or victims of
serious violence.

North Yorkshire Hospice Care t/a Just ‘B’ – £28,124.00 – Harrogate

Supported successfully during 2024-25 through the Serious Violence Duty, funding will add value by providing a consistent form of emotional support for young people, to ensure that they are able to achieve the best possible outcomes. By providing ongoing support to young people at Springwell Harrogate, project will create a stable, reliable presence in their lives, fostering stronger relationships and ensuring lasting impact through sessions. 15 hours of weekly support during term time from April 2025 to April 2026 will continue to be delivered.  The funding will also allow the project to expand by introducing support at Rosset School ‘alternative provision’ centre in Harrogate, providing 10 hours of weekly support from September 2025 to April 2026. The goal is to provide a tailored emotional wellbeing service, to directly address young people’s issues around serious violence.  Dedicated support workers will collaborate with staff in each school to identify and refer young people who are either victims of or who are at risk of engaging in violent behaviour.  Support will provide an early intervention to ensure that young people are equipped with strategies to be better able to de-escalate aggressive behaviour, avoid triggers for violent

situations, able to seek help and build resilience.  The overall aim of the project is to create a comprehensive support system that helps young people in all aspects of their life, but especially in how to prevent being involved with or victims of violence.

River Marshalls

York BID – £2,679.20 – York

The project involves positioning a dedicated Marshal on King’s Staith in central York from 12-8pm every Saturday throughout the summer.  This location has been chosen because it is a popular drinking spot for locals and visitors in the summer months. The project promotes public safety during the day and into the night, and contributes to a vibrant, safe, and well managed riverside environment.  The project launched in 2022 at the request of businesses in the area to support with ASB and promote safety along the river. Funding will enable the BID to continue and grow the project in 2025. In a 2024 survey with riverside businesses, 87.5% of respondents said Riverside Marshals improved public safety and people’s experience of the area. Marshal logs show that their presence directly contributed to de-escalating violence and prevented river entries. Riverside Marshals are a vital resource in York, where concerns about riverside safety are well documented.  The Marshal will be a visible presence, deterring crime and promoting a safe environment for residents and visitors to enjoy the riverside. They will also be integral to supporting door staff and York Rescue Boat in identifying and responding to a range of public safety issues along the river, including alcohol-related ASB.