News


The Sussex Independent Custody Visitor Scheme (ICV) led by Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne, has been recognised as a nominee for the highest honour given to volunteer groups across the UK – The King’s Award for Voluntary Service. It is equivalent to an MBE and is given as a life-long award.

On Tuesday 3 June, PCC Katy Bourne attended a roundtable hosted by Kent's Police & Crime Commissioner, Matthew Scott.
The roundtable bought together all PCC's and key partner agencies to discuss tackling organised waste crime in the South East.

Following the closure of Crawley’s town centre Business Improvement District (BID) Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne has stepped in to award £25,000 to Crawley and Gatwick Business Watch to fill the void, enabling them to provide vital support in preventing crime and keeping the town centre safe for retailers.

Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne's Safer In Sussex Community Fund is now open for applications.
The fund provides financial support (grant awards up to £5,000) to local organisations and projects that aim to reduce crime and improve community safety.

During May's Performance & Accountability Meeting, the Sussex PCC will scrutinise and hold Sussex Police to account on the following topics: NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING GUARANTEE – KEEPING TOWN CENTRES SAFE THIS SUMMER; KNIFE-ENABLED CRIME; SCAMS AND FRAUD; UK SUPREME COURT – LEGAL DEFINITION OF A WOMAN and DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE CHECKS – REVISITED

Safer In Sussex Survey
Have your say in Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne’s survey
Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne has launched her annual summer survey seeking the views of residents across the county.
The Safer In Sussex Survey seeks to understand if residents have experienced crime and looks at what measures would make them feel safer in their communities.

Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne has funded 500 unique tool-marking kits as part of a pilot in partnership with Checkatrade. The kits have been given to traders free of charge to help prevent and protect from tool-theft.

Crime and anti-social behaviour have fallen in Sussex’s hotspot areas after 12 months of targeted policing.
In April, 2024, Sussex Police built on £1.4million of Home Office funding to increase activity in 29 areas with relatively high levels of crime and anti-social behaviour.
The newly-formed Hotspot Policing Team has conducted 18,365 hours of patrols in that time – on top of the routine patrols carried out by local officers.
In that time they have engaged with over 98,600 members of the public, operating from new community pods, and made almost 300 arrests.
As a result, overall crime in hotspot areas has reduced by 15% compared to the previous 12 months. Anti-social behaviour is down by 19.5% over the same period.

Offenders brought to justice responsible for £8m of thefts:
- National intelligence unit sees 148 arrests in first year of operation
- 50% reduction in offending from organised crime groups identified
- Retailers praise dedication of team in affecting criminal justice outcomes
A national policing intelligence unit set up in partnership with retailers to tackle organised retail crime has been operational one year (1 May) and continues to reap results, identifying and bringing to justice crime groups responsible for £8m financial impact of offending.
Funded by the Home Office and the Pegasus Partnership (a collaboration between retailers and policing convened by PCC Katy Bourne) the team within Opal (policing’s national intelligence unit for serious organised acquisitive crime led by CC Amanda Blakeman) collects and develops intelligence around organised retail crime from retailers and police forces.