Safer Devon is a partnership of public, voluntary and community organisations that work together to make Devon’s communities safer.
It provides strategic leadership for community safety work carried out across the county.
Members of the public can learn more about our activities on the Safer Devon website.
About Safer Devon
Our Partners include Devon’s four local Community Safety Partnerships
- East and Mid Devon
- Exeter
- North Devon and Torridge
- South Devon and Dartmoor (Teignbridge, South Hams and West Devon)
Safer Devon and its partners are committed to supporting Devon’s communities through preventing and tackling community safety issues which negatively affect local people and communities, such as crime, hidden and visible harm, and exploitation.
Safer Devon works alongside other strategic partnerships in Devon to address issues of mutual concern and maximise opportunities for inter-partnership collaboration.
- Devon Safeguarding Children’s Partnership
- Torbay and Devon Safeguarding Adults Partnership
- Devon Health and Wellbeing Board
- One Devon Partnership (Integrated Care System for Devon)
It also works closely with its counterpart Community Safety Partnerships across the Peninsula.
Our priorities
Reducing Violence in Families and Intimate Relationships – tackling domestic abuse and sexual violence and abuse (excluding child sexual abuse)
Preventing Violence in Communities – preventing serious violence, including youth violence
Preventing People being drawn into Terrorism – preventing the risk of people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism
Cross-Cutting Priorities – influencing all areas of our work:
- Reducing offending and reoffending
- Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls
- Embedding ‘test and learn’ and trauma-informed approaches
- Increasing community confidence
The Partnership defines violence as:
“The intentional use of physical, sexual or psychological force or power, threatened or actual (this includes coercive and controlling behaviour).”
Learning, guidance and support
The Safer Devon website has information and support about
- sexual violence
- domestic violence and abuse
- alcohol and drug misuse
- dangerous drug networks and county lines
- modern slavery and human trafficking
- radicalisation
- sexual exploitation
- online exploitation
- fraud and cybercrime
- hate crime
- suicide prevention
The Safer Devon website publishes information about Domestic Homicide Reviews carried out in Devon.
Domestic Homicide Reviews are a review of the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by someone to whom they were related or was/had been in an intimate personal relationship, or a member of the same household. The purpose of these reviews is to identify lessons to be learnt from the death.
Prevent
What is Prevent?
Prevent is part of the UK’s Counter Terrorism Strategy (2015, updated 2023). The strategy involves agencies working together to safeguard people and communities from the threat of violent extremism and terrorism.
The Strategy places a statutory duty on specified agencies, including Devon County Council, to have ‘due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’.
To fulfil this Duty the Council must collaborate with other specified partners to ensure the effective delivery of leadership, partnership working, learning and development and information sharing in relation Prevent.
How we fulfil our Prevent duties in Devon
Safer Devon coordinates and oversees the local delivery of Prevent within Devon. Prevent is delivered in partnership with Safer Torbay and Torbay Council. Organisations involved include the police, prisons, probation, the NHS, child and adult safeguarding services and education.
Our aim is to reduce susceptibility to being radicalised into terrorism and intervene early to support and divert those where risks around susceptibility are greatest. We also work to increase the resilience of communities to engage with and challenge violent extremism.
Channel is a key part of Prevent. It is a multiagency approach to identifying and providing support to individuals who are susceptible to being drawn into terrorism. Devon County Council is the lead authority for Channel across the county and chairs and coordinates the Devon Channel Panel.
Steps to take if you’re concerned about radicalisation
Interventions during the radicalisation process can stop people from being drawn into terrorism. The earlier a referral is made, the greater the opportunity to intervene and safeguard them and others.
If you believe someone is at risk of radicalisation. you can take the following steps.
Professionals
If you are a professional working in Devon, consult our Prevent referral flowchart. If advised, download the National Prevent Referral Form and make a referral, following the steps in the flowchart.
If you are unable to view the flowchart, email saferdevonpartnership@devon.gov.uk.
Members of the public
Act Early website has guidance about concerns that someone is at risk of radicalisation.