Campaigns
Welcome to our Campaigns page, here you’ll find all the latest information about ongoing and upcoming campaigns, each designed to make a positive impact and drive meaningful change around serious violence and knife crime.
This page is a one stop shop for local and national campaigns that you can access and use on your platforms. We have done the hard work bringing them all together for you so you can sit back relax.
Get Involved
Join us in making a difference! Each campaign offers unique opportunities for you to contribute, from spreading awareness though to educating the community. By working together with a shared vision we can amplify the messages and create real, lasting change.
Take a look at the ‘Educate Against Hate‘ calendar which marks awareness dates in the year and providing you with practical advice, guidance and resources to discuss them with your students.
Stay Updated
Don’t miss out on the latest news. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media to stay informed about upcoming campaigns, progress updates, and ways you can get involved.
📰 Sign up to our VRP newsletter
Thank you for being part of the journey. Together, we can build a better future.
Click on the campaigns below to find out more and download assets and resources.
Is your organisation part of the Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP)?
Many organisations have a statutory duty to reduce serious violence—often as part of their everyday work. Stay Connected is your opportunity to highlight the efforts of your colleagues in meeting this duty. By promoting the work being done, you help raise awareness of the VRP and move us closer to making Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, and Southampton safer places—free from violence and the fear of it.
Get involved today and be part of the change.
What is knife crime awareness week?
Twice a year during May and November, Op Sceptre (knife crime awareness week) takes place. This is an intensification week where activity is implemented across Hampshire and IOW to target knife crime, take knives off the street and educate children, families and communities. Reducing knife crime is a focus Hampshire and Isle of Wight constabulary all year round, but we know that when we broaden that focus during Op Sceptre weeks, we reach more people and include them to get knives off our street.
Partnership Working
Tackling knife crime is a complex issue that requires more than just one approach. By working in partnership—across schools, police, community groups, and local authorities—we can create a united front that not only raises awareness but also drives meaningful action. Each partner brings unique insights, skills, and resources, allowing us to educate young people, prevent violence, and support safer choices.
Partnership working amplifies our efforts, ensuring that knife crime prevention reaches all corners of the community. Together, we can make a greater impact, reducing harm and building safer futures for everyone. We resources below that will help you consider your involvement in Knife Crime Awareness Week and help you prep and plan for engagement opportunities.
Please click the links below to download
📄 Knife Crime Awareness Week (Op Sceptre) Activity Guide and Champion Contact - November 2024
🖥 Knife Crime Awareness Week (Op Sceptre) Partnership Working Webinar - November 2024
Communications and Engagement Pack
The Violence Reduction Unit have produced this pack to help you get involved and share information with the children, young people and communities you work with. The focus of this pack is reporting knife crime, getting support, and awareness raising. Much of the information in the pack can be used at any time of the year so although we would encourage you to use it during knife crime awareness week please feel free to use it at any time.
The pack contains information on resources to support your knowledge on knife crime, engagement resources to use with children and young people, support services you can access and a digital campaign - #NeverChooseKnives which will help with further engagement on the subject with the people you work with. We are also really excited to say we have worked with Unloc this year and are using their ‘I Wont Give Up’ music video as part of the #NeverChooseKnives messages.
Please adapt to suit your audience or platform and if there is anything else you think would help share the conversation wider please get in touch with the Violence Reduction Unit by emailing - vru@hampshire.police.uk
What is We Walk Away?
Walk Away, created by Leicestershire Police, is a behaviour change campaign which aims to prevent deaths and serious injuries caused by a person being assaulted on a night out, often as a result of drunken behaviour, or split-second errors of judgement.
It was initially launched ahead of the festive season in 2023 and has been refreshed with football-specific assets with funding from the Home Office. The campaign targets mainly men, aged 18-30, who are most likely to be a victim or suspect of such behaviour. It also calls on friends and bystanders of potential offenders, as well as members of the public, to de-escalate situations when it’s safe to.
Communications and media assets:
Leicestershire Police have put together a toolbox which includes:
Campaign guidance (social media guidance and stakeholder engagement information)
- Campaign activation guide (brand guidelines, background, key messages and strategy)
- Social media assets, graphics and videos
- Print assets – posters, takeaway food stickers, queue barrier banners
- Spotify ad script
- Digital ads
- Press release and intranet article templates
For more information on this campaign please get in touch with the National Police Chiefs Council via email on - info@npcc.police.uk
We know that talking about serious violence to children and young people can be really hard. We also know that taking about it can be a really effective method in helping to reduce it.
The below are a serious of recourses that the Violence Reduction Partnership have created to support you in your understanding of serious violence and knife crime.
Please note, we are in the process of designing some social media assets around serious violence for you to use on you channels. Please check back to see progress and if you have any suggestions about what might be helpful please let us know via email at vru@hampshire.police.uk
Please CLICK the documents below to view and download:
🗎 VRP Serious Violence Toolkit
The Violence Reduction Partnership Toolkit, endorsed by multiple safeguarding boards, supports a coordinated approach to preventing serious violence and enhancing support for victims and their families. It's designed to improve understanding and response to children's needs and risks, and is accessible to all practitioners in the Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, and Southampton areas.
Webinars:
💻 Ben Kinsella Trust, Serious Violence and Knife Crime - How to have Honest Conversations
Useful Documents:
🗎 Having Honest Conversations Infographic
🗎 Ben Kinsella Trust: A guide to knife harm for parents and carers
Is Your Child Safe campaign which is aimed at parents and carers to raise awareness of child exploitation and offer help on how to see the signs, what to do and where to get help.
If you would like to support this campaign, please use the attached media pack to download the campaign images and use the suggested wording provided. The campaign will be running throughout the summer holidays therefore it is advisable to post one a week on your channels.
For the last two years The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in partnership with Hampshire County Council, Isle of Wight Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council have used the campaign in partnership to raise awareness.
Child exploitation is happening now in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight. The signs are subtle, which is why it is called a hidden harm.
The campaign aims to:
- Help parents and carers see the signs of exploitation
- Inform them on what they can do
- Tell them where they can get help
A national campaign to support young people to safely navigate social media and prevent violence has been launched. ‘Quit Fighting For Likes’ aims to get young people to think about and discuss attitudes and behaviours around the filming and sharing of violent incidents.
Developed by the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU), YouthLink Scotland and Medics Against Violence (MAV), the new campaign is part of an action plan agreed in the Scottish Government’s Violence Prevention Framework, published in May last year. It features a short awareness-raising animation, illustrating the digital world where this content can take place and showing an alternative route to switch off from it. A set of memes has also been produced covering a range of messages about why filming and sharing fights is damaging. Young people helped develop the campaign through focus groups and feedback sessions involving various schools and youth groups, including pupils from Craigmount High School in Edinburgh.
September is a time of significant change for young people aged with many facing new school years, transitioning to college or university, starting new jobs, or navigating personal changes.
The VRP have developed this campaign with Hampshire and Isle of Wight Youth Commission which aims to help young people embrace these transitions with confidence, ensuring they feel safe, supported, and empowered to take positive actions.
Campaign Objectives:
1. Promote Awareness: Educate students on the importance of safety and
making positive choices during times of transition.
2. Empower Action: Provide students with practical strategies and tools to
handle transitions confidently.
3. Encourage Community: Foster a sense of support and connectedness
among students as they navigate these changes together.
The main focus is a Digital Campaign - #EmbraceTheChange Challenge:
A social media campaign where young people share stories, tips, or experiences related to transitions and positive actions they've taken to cope with times of change.
Please use the communications and media pack to get involved.
Let's come together to help keep our communities stay safe while having a fantastic time. The ‘Be a Halloween Hero’ campaign is designed to promote fun, safety, and community spirit during this exciting time of year.
Communications and Engagement Pack
To help spread the word and engage your community, we’ve created a Communications and Engagement Pack. This pack is filled with digital resources to make it easy for schools, community groups, youth groups and local authorities to participate.
What’s included in the pack?
- Social Media Assets: Ready-to-use images, hashtags, and messages that you can post to your social media channels. Encourage others to be Halloween heroes by sharing these assets on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more.
- Fun Halloween Quiz: Test your Halloween hero skills with our quiz! Discover whether you’re The Candy Crusader, The Costume Champion, or The Trick-or-Treat Trailblazer. This fun activity is perfect for engaging young people while emphasising safety and creativity during HalloweenThe quiz is a fantastic way to get young people involved in a safe, fun, and interactive way. By participating, young can learn about community safety while enjoying the season.
Get Involved and Make a Difference
By participating in the Be a Halloween Hero campaign, you’re not only helping make this holiday fun but also contributing to building a safer community. The VRP Serious Violence and Knife Crime Participation Pack adds an extra layer of impact, ensuring that the next generation is aware and prepared to make safer choices.
Download the Communications and Engagement Pack and the VRP Participation Pack today, and start making a difference in your community this Halloween season. Whether through sharing digital assets, hosting a quiz, or leading vital conversations about safety, you can be a Halloween hero!
Help Us Measure the Impact of Our Campaigns
We're excited to hear about the impact these campaigns have had on your organisation’s engagement across various platforms. By taking just a few minutes to complete our Campaign Evaluation Form, you’ll provide us with valuable feedback on how these campaigns performed and the ways they connected with your audience. Your insights are essential as we continue to refine our resources to better serve you and organisations like yours.
If you’ve used any of the above campaigns, we’d be incredibly grateful if you could take 5 minutes to share your experience. Every response helps us shape campaigns that are even more effective and impactful. Thank you for your time and for being a part of this journey with us!"