What is Assault?

An assault is any violent physical or verbal attack against someone. The Police have several different categories of assault, ranging from small assaults through to attempted murder. For more information about these see the download on types of assaults below.

• Common Assault
• Aggravated Assault
• Grievous Bodily Harm
• Grievous Bodily Harm (with intent)

Assault and Violent Crime data for Brighton & Hove

The graph below shows you how many crimes, which were 'reported' to the Police during 2005-2006, happened to different ages.

Research show that children and young people are most likely to be the victim of theft, verbal racial abuse, damage to property, and bullying when at school, while racial attacks, mobile phone theft and assault are most common outside school but near the young person’s home and in the city centre.

According to resent national research young people are 2 or 3 times more likely to be the victims of assault, robbery or rape. (NACRO 2003)

The police figures for assaults in Brighton & Hove show that approximately 75% of all ‘reported’ assaults, committed against children & young people in the city, happened in public places (in the streets and city centre), 10% of them happened in someone’s house and 7% at school.

Advice to help keep you safe

• Look confident when out & about. Make sure your body language looks like you know where you are going & why. 
• Tell someone where you are going, who with & when you'll be back. 
• Do not take short cuts & keep to well lit areas at night. 
• Cross the road if you see people you don't feel comfortable about - head towards a place with lots of people and lights (shop, garage forecourt, etc). 
• Always carry your mobile phone with you in case you need to make a call quickly. Keep it out of sight if you are worried someone may try to steal it. 
• If you don’t have a mobile, always keep some spare change with you so that you can make a call from a phone box.
• It is free to phone 999 from any phone box or telephone.

But remember, there are no absolute answers in life and each situation you come across can be different. Therefore, the important thing is that you always try to practice safe options and assess the risks with anything you do.

• Remember to plan ahead
• Trust your instincts
• Be aware of your surroundings
• Make a safety plan in case things go wrong
• Always let people know where you are
• There is always someone you can turn to for help

Reporting crime

A lot of these crimes are committed by other young people, and sometimes you might feel that there isn’t much you can do about it. A natural worry is that if you report an assault, or any crime, to the Police you will make things worse and the person who did it will know and come after you again. You might even feel that nothing would be done about it any reporting it won’t make any difference. That isn’t true.

The Police will always discuss any fears or worries you have and talk to you about what the best course of action will be. At the very least, they will know it has happened and will be able to help keep you safe.

It is always important you report any crime. This does not have to be directly to the Police since there are many ways you can report crime confidentially and anonymously. For more information about the different ways you can report crime and get help and support see the ‘What to do about crime’ page or the ‘Reporting Crime’ game on this website. 

Remember

• If you are ever assaulted, hit or beaten up, by anyone whether they are a young person, adult or family member, you should always tell someone and get help and advice.
• If you witness anyone being assaulted then you should always phone 999 and ask for the Police. If it is a serious incident, like an assault, the Police will do their best to get to you in less than 10min.
• If you are ever threatened by anyone, whether they are a young person or an adult, you should always report it to the Police, or tell someone you trust.
• It is a criminal offence to threaten someone and the Police will always take it seriously.
• In any situation, if you can, walk away and try to avoid a fight of any kind. It’s just not worth it! If you can’t avoid it, and they start on you, try to run away. If not make as much noise as you can to attract someone’s attention.
• Always tell someone about what has happened, even if you don’t want to report it to the Police.

Downloads

Types of Assault: This download gives more information about the different types of assault which can happen and how the Police record such violent crime.

Links

www.caddie.gov.uk/

CADDIE stands for Crime and Disorder Data Information Exchange and is a website that brings together crime and disorder data from different partnership agencies including the police, fire service and ambulance service. An interactive mapping wizard allows you to view crime in Brighton & Hove by ward area, and a postcode lookup facility will show you how many incidents have been recorded within 1km of your home postcode in the last month.

www.sussex.police.uk/

Website for Sussex Police which gives you information about the Police, what they are doing in Brighton & Hove and across Sussex, how to report crime and make complaints.

www.safeinthecity.net/

Brighton & Hove's Community Safety Team website, which tells you about the crime and disorder priorities set by the council and police in the city. This gives you information about what the council and police are planning to do to improve the safety of people in the city.