Action Fraud, the UK's reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, have estimated over £2m has already been lost to coronavirus-related fraud in the UK.

Examples of current identified COVID-19 scams that are occurring both online and in person include:

• Doorstep pressure selling of cleansing services that offer to clean drives and   doorways to kill bacteria and help prevent the spread of the virus.
• The targeting of older people on their doorstep,offering to do their shopping, taking their money and not returning.
• The sale of fake COVID-19 testing kits and supplements that claim to prevent or cure COVID-19.

Since March 2020 the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has identified "more UK government branded scams relating to COVID-19 than any other subject," and phishing is the most prevalent method the fraudsters are employing. An example of this type of phishing is a bogus text from HMRC claiming the taxman has been forced to issue refunds due to coronavirus, the text provides a link for readers to ‘calculate their refund’ leading to the theft of their bank details and other sensitive information.

The NCSC have launched the cyber aware security campaign to help people learn how to stay safe online.

Earlier this year we held our annual East Sussex against Scams Partnership charter event. Charter partners shared best practice and initiatives such as the accessible Friends Against Scams (FAS) training which has been carefully designed to support people with additional needs learn how to spot different types of scams. To download the accessible FAS training, all of the FAS scams awareness presentations & handouts please sign up as a FAS SCAMchampion via this link and you will receive instructions on how to access resources via email.

Tackling serious violence is not a law enforcement issue alone. It requires involving a range of partners across different sectors.

Over the past 12 months there have been a number of funding opportunities, campaigns and local and national developments in relation to serious violence.

In April 2018 the government published its Serious Violence Strategy in response to increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide across England. Action in the strategy is focused on 4 main themes:

•  Tackling county lines and misuse of drugs
•  Early intervention and prevention
•  Supporting communities and local partnerships
•  Law enforcement and the criminal justice response

You can read more about the work taking place in East Sussex in our recent  Serious Violence Newsletter

Further funding from the Home Office has been allocated to continue the activities of the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) into 2020/2021 in a partnership between Sussex Police, Brighton and Hove City Council, East Sussex County Council, West Sussex County, Public Health England, the NHS and other partners.

The latest East Sussex Safer Communities Partnerships Plan sets out how partners will work together to deliver our community safety priorities and what we are planning to do to improve the services to support local people for the future.

The partnership discussed the issues and concerns causing our communities the greatest harm at a development morning last summer. The outcomes helped us to identify our strategic priorities for the period 2020/23  - they are:

• Serious and Organised Crime
• Serious Violent Crime including Knife Crime
• Domestic Violence & Abuse, Rape & Sexual Violence and Abuse, Stalking & Harassment and Harmful Practices

Online safety, social media, the internet and mobile phones were identified as cross cutting themes across all of these areas.

The substance misuse team and recovery services have published a plan of how services will be operating in response to Coronavirus (COVI-19). 

East Sussex Recovery Alliance host the plan on their website - which provides details of each service, contact details and any current changes. These plans may change with government guidance, so please keep checking here for updates.

We are working together as a community and many services will still be taking new referrals over the phone or online. If you are worried about anyone using drugs or alcohol, please speak to one of our providers listed in the plan.

A useful guide has been developed for East Sussex Drug & Alcohol services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The greater number of people staying indoors for long periods means instances of domestic abuse may be on the rise. We know that in the current climate, it is more challenging for those suffering abuse. Lines of communication could be severely limited if victims are unable to leave the home.

We want to reassure those experiencing abuse that they are not alone.

People in East Sussex needing help, advice or support on domestic abuse and sexual violence can contact The Portal on 0300 323 9985 or visit the Safe In East Sussex webpage to access support,advice and services.

Helplines are still operating and services continue to provide support over the phone.

The stay-at-home instruction as a result of COVID-19 does not apply if you need to leave your home to escape domestic abuse