Social Research ¦ Market Research ¦ Behavioural Insight ¦ Evaluation ¦ SROI
Social Research ¦ Market Research ¦ Behavioural Insight ¦ Evaluation ¦ SROI
The South Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (SYVRU) is committed to working with all organisations to raise awareness of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and encourage improved ways of working in order to better support people across South Yorkshire.
This research took a qualitative approach to explore the views, experiences and perspectives of residents. We carefully selected regions based on demographic information and high numbers of reported violent crimes (Doncaster, Rotherham, Barnsley and Sheffield).
We worked closely with community organisations across the regions and were able to organise and moderate 12 community workshops. We also conducted individual interviews with some residents from Doncaster who preferred this approach. In total, we spoke to 149 residents.
Our findings revealed that across South Yorkshire, people are strongly concerned about worsening levels of crime and antisocial activity in their local areas. There is a strong sense that their personal safety is at threat, with increasing incidents of violent confrontations occurring as they go about their daily lives.
Personal anxieties about local violence should be contextulaised in wider perceptions of social deprivation and institutional neglect in their local areas. Residents are acutely aware of a severe reduction in the efforts and effectiveness of the police and judiciary over recent years. Communities associate these wider failings as allowing local criminality and violence to flourish. In effect, residents feel that criminals can act with impunity and no protection or help is offered to local people. It is apparent from our community working groups that certain areas feel ‘riskier’, especially at night (for instance, town and city centres) than other areas. However, there is a real concern that violence and threats of violence is spreading to all areas and can occur anywhere and at any time.
On the whole, residents do not perceive that effective measures are being taken to reduce serious crime in their local areas. We made key recommendations for the SYVRU both in terms of its funding for community iniatives, engagement with the community and suggestions of how to manage community expectations around crime and safety.
