Active Bystander Training – Supporting Safer Spaces Across Brighton

As part of BCRP Awareness Week, Brighton Crime Reduction Partnership hosted its second Active Bystander Training session at The Mesmerist, continuing its work to support businesses in creating safer spaces across the city.

Funded by Govia Thameslink Railway and delivered by Protection Approaches, the session brought together staff from across the night-time economy to build confidence in recognising and responding to behaviours such as harassment, discrimination and vulnerability.

The training focused on practical, real-world actions that staff can take in the moment, from spotting early signs of concern, to safely stepping in and supporting someone who may need help.

A key message from the session was that intervention doesn’t mean confrontation. Sometimes, the most effective action is simply checking in with someone, creating a distraction, or seeking support from colleagues or security.

This approach is central to BCRP’s wider work around early intervention and cultural change, ensuring that frontline staff feel confident, empowered and supported to act, and that creating safer spaces becomes part of everyday practice.

Through initiatives like this, BCRP continues to work in partnership with businesses and organisations across Brighton to build a night-time economy where people look out for one another and harm is prevented before it escalates.

Because creating safer spaces isn’t just about responding to incidents; it’s about giving people the confidence to act when it matters most.