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The SYC was set up by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Katy Bourne in 2014 to give young people across the county an opportunity to have a voice on policing and crime.

The students collected the national Engagement Award – backed by the Cabinet Office and Ministry for Civil Society – from Compact Voice, which represents the voluntary sector and promotes effective partnerships between the sector and government.

The University of Brighton third-year criminology students, Conor Simmonds and Sefton Dosi, joined the commission during 2014 and won the award for their work on 4 November 2015.

Conor said: “This award illustrates the foresight and success of the initiative of the PCC in the setting up of the SYC in 2014. It encourages the belief that the youth of the country can be an important factor in the solution to crime rather than the problem.

Conor Simmonds (left) and Sefton Dosi

“I feel certain the initiative has made the SYC team more socially aware and helped us to avoid taking simplistic black-and-white points of view on difficult issues.

“I am humbled by the award which inspires me to continue being part of the team providing a consultative contribution to local policing. That remains the aim of the team and, ultimately, to improve the social well-being of the youth in Sussex.”

Peter Squires, the university’s Professor of Criminology, said: “This is a really positive outcome by the students and helps to show the value of getting involved in real issues beyond the classroom. I'm especially pleased that the PCC and Sussex Police have developed this initiative, it quite takes me back to some of our earliest criminology research at Brighton, arguing for more youth input on consultation about local policing priorities.”

The SYC has conducted a ‘Big Conversation’ which has reached over 4000 young people across Sussex, delivering over 80 engagement events with a wide range of local partners. The results of these conversations are helping shape and influence policy in Conor and Sefton’s area of academic study. Conor said the SYC was continuing to turn listening into real action and concerns into genuine change for the benefit of all young people in Sussex.