Serious violence and crimes

If you are in an emergency

If you witness or are a victim to a violent incident call the police. If the incident is taking place at that time, or the offender is still nearby then always call 999.

The Community Safety Partnership has a duty, in accordance with the Police, Crime, Courts and Sentencing Act 2022, to collaborate to prevent and reduce serious violence, with priorities including Violence Against Women and Girls, Night Time Economy, and Serious Youth Violence.

The North East Lincolnshire Serious Violence Strategy (PDF, 752KB) sets out how we plan to achieve this reduction.

On this page you will find guidance and advice about staying safe, and hear what the Council is doing to work towards creating safer communities.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG)

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is an umbrella term used to cover a wide range of abuses against women and girls such as domestic homicide, domestic abuse, sexual assault, abuse experienced as a child, female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage and harassment in work and public life. While men and boys also suffer from many of these forms of abuse, they disproportionately affect women.

While a proportion of violent offences experienced by women and girls are domestic-related, a considerable amount are not.

The North East Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership will support an action plan around VAWG by focusing on raising awareness and looking to prevent offences occurring. This will include tackling all forms of discrimination, including that against women and girls and challenging language and behaviours to enact cultural change.

What should you do if you witness unwanted sexual harassment?

We recommend that you choose one of the five Ds of bystander intervention:

Direct

Assess your safety first. Speak up about the harassment. Be firm and clear.

Distract

Interrupt or start a conversation to de-escalate the situation.

Delegate

Get help from someone else such as a manager or another colleague.

Document

It is helpful for the victim to have detailed notes of the incident if they want to report later on.

Delay

After the incident is over, check in with the person who was harassed.

Download the VAWG year-end report 2024-2025 (PDF, 5MB)

While a proportion of violent offences experienced by women and girls are domestic-related, a considerable amount are not. Visit ‘Domestic abuse‘ for advice and guidance for this particular kind of violence.

Challenge attitudes and behaviours in relation to VAWG linked to the government’s ‘enough’ campaign.
Design and create localised campaigns to raise awareness and encourage support
Promote the Streetsafe tool to identify problem areas
Provide information and support for licensed premises around the potential for violence against women and girls and preventative measures
Provide briefings to promote bystander interventions

Greater community awareness of problematic behaviours and how to address them
Reduced risk to women and girls in public spaces
Reduced risk to women in the night time economy
Reduced VAWG in public spaces and night time economy
Increased activity, improved mental health and reduced isolated of targeted girls
Increased awareness of the impact of behaviours and changes in behaviours

Information and guidance

Five Ds of bystander intervention (PDF, 143KB) – Advice if you witness sexual assault
Parents guide to sexual harassment (PDF, 192KB)
A parents guide to dealing with ‘sexting’ (PDF, 551KB)
Violence Against Women and Girls Factsheet (PDF, 392KB)
Male Violence Against Women and Girls is Preventable (PDF, 237KB)

White Ribbon

White Ribbon is a charity engaging with men and boys to prevent men’s violence against women and girls (VAWG).

North East Lincolnshire Council became White Ribbon Accredited and pledged to work to end violence against women and girls.

Did you know that in North East Lincolnshire 21% of all crime in 2024/25 is related to violence against women and girls (VAWG)?

We are encouraging individuals to become ambassadors and champions to raise awareness of the White Ribbon message, both in their work and amongst their communities, friends and family.

Champions and Ambassadors complete a short training video when enrolling to equip them with how to complete the role. To sign up visit Ambassadors and Champions — White Ribbon UK.

Champions – Female and those who don’t identify as male

Ambassadors – Male and those who identify as male

Weapon crime

Some people mistakenly think that carrying a knife or a weapon may protect them. Unfortunately, this is often far from the truth. Carrying and then using a weapon shows you are intending to cause someone serious harm, and that comes with a long prison sentence.

Carrying a knife or weapon in the UK can lead to serious legal consequences, even if it’s not used. If you’re involved in a stabbing that results in someone’s death, you could face a minimum of 10 years in prison. Under the principle of joint enterprise, if you’re part of a group where someone uses a knife to injure or kill, you can still be prosecuted, even if you didn’t personally use the weapon

One of the features of weapon crime is that they are often tools of the trade for serious organised crime gangs. These criminal gangs are involved in multiple criminal activities, including child criminal exploitation, child sexual exploitation, financial fraud, drug dealing and modern slavery, with each crime feeding off the other.